


Fragility

by ManicRavingsofaLunatic



Series: Young Apprentice [2]
Category: Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Sequel to Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-14 06:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 77,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2181093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManicRavingsofaLunatic/pseuds/ManicRavingsofaLunatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Identity. A new hero in Gotham discovers an evil plot and realises that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. Meanwhile, the mysterious Big Bad continues targeting the team. Who is behind it all? Is this more than the teen heroes can handle? Post Season One/Original Team/Canon Pairings</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> FINALLY! Huzzah! I have finally gotten far enough writing this fic to start posting! I know that its been forever since I said I was going to do this, but in my defence, it is longer and more involved than I initially realised; and I kept being plagued by plot bunnies for other fandoms as well. It is a damned good thing that I waited this long to start posting, otherwise you would have had half-year hiatuses between chapters… But now, as I have written the first four chapters, and am partway through chap 5, you get updates every couple of days! Woot!
> 
> Now, I'm a little paranoid about this fic, because everyone knows that sequels are never as good as the originals. I've tried really hard to listen to what people told me that they did and didn't like about Identity on ff.net, for example, everyone seemed to agree that there was not enough Wally/Dick bromance – I'm pretty sure that I've fixed that this time around :P Much brotherly bonding ahead!
> 
> Another thing people seemed to love, however, was the fact that Zatanna and Rocket were mysteriously absent. As I'm following canon (mostly) I couldn't really keep that up, so unfortunately, Zee does have a role to play. I personally like the character, but I hated how they smushed her and Rob together, so I'm kinda writing a fix-it for that. Sorry to any Chalant lovers… I'm being very nonChalant here…
> 
> Wow, enough author's notes for you? Sorry! Didn't mean to ramble so much! Please ignore me now and get to the reading of this long-awaited fic! Enjoy!

**Part One**

It was never completely silent in the manor, even in the dead of night. The old building creaked in its sleep; the floorboards groaning as if ghostly footsteps disturbed them. The harsh winter winds raged just outside of the thick walls, making the old windows rattle in their panes. And then there was the rather loud owl that had decided to take up residence in the tree right beside the youngest inhabitant's bedroom window.

But Dick was used to all of those sounds. He tuned them out as he lay there on his side, staring at the moonlight glowing through his curtains. His thoughts were far louder than them anyway as his mind stubbornly refused to switch off and let him sleep.

Bruce was still out on patrol as Batman _alone_ , so Dick knew that there wasn't even a chance of him sleeping anyway, but that wasn't the main thing that was keeping him up.

It had been three months since that day in the school. Since he had been shot. His recovery had gone pretty smoothly – he barely felt any pain from the injury at all any more; but he was still restricted to light exercise and banned from anything even remotely fun – particularly patrol and training. In fact, tomorrow was his first day back in the cave since the kidnapping.

And that was the problem.

It wasn't the team knowing his identity that bugged him – Wally had been over to visit him plenty of times since, and the rest of the team had been Skyping him pretty regularly; so he knew that his status as 'ridiculously rich kid' hadn't changed anything. It wasn't even the prospect of going up against the bad guys again either – he'd been injured plenty of times in the past and jumped right back into the fight as soon as he was walking again. No, that wasn't the problem.

The problem was Zatanna.

His girlfriend. Or whatever label that they had used to describe their relationship. She and Rocket had been offworld with a couple of Leaguers on a long term mission on Thanagar – for _six_ months. She had come back early on her own about a month ago – Dick didn't know why. He hadn't spoken to her since she had come home. Well actually, he hadn't spoken to her since she had _left._ And maybe a bit before that...

She would be at the cave tomorrow.

What the hell was he going to say?

With a frustrated sigh, Dick rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. His clock ticked loudly, mocking him with every second that rolled closer to the morning. He tried one last time to switch off before just giving up and kicking off the covers. If he already knew that he wasn't going to sleep, what was the point in even trying?

He pulled a hoodie over his pyjamas and then silently crept out of his room. His bare feet made no noise on the wood floors, but pretty quickly his toes were frozen through. He ignored them and snuck through the empty halls, heading straight for the grandfather clock in the living room.

By the time he had descended the stone steps and thrown himself into the seat in front of the computer he was shivering in the winter chill. A hazy flashback of a dip in an ice cold river made him shudder. He drew his knees to his chest to conserve warmth and then started running through recent cases on the computer.

The most visited folder of late was the investigation into the kidnapping. Pretty much every lead had been exhausted by now, but the Big Bad behind it all was still remaining elusive. The fact that _the_ Batman couldn't find the guy (or girl) was far from comforting. The whole League was still being super-paranoid about the whole thing. Artemis and her mother were even staying in a safe house at the moment, and the rest of the team had had the new rules drilled so deep into them that they recited them in their sleep.

Dick ignored that case – he had read it a couple hundred times or so since he had been allowed to sneak out of bed during recovery. Instead he clicked on a brand new folder that he hadn't seen before. He was greeted with an image of a black, yellow and red blur. It took him a minute to realise that it was a girl in a bat suit. Or an impersonation of a bat suit – it was hard to tell. Judging by how much material Bruce had collected on the new wannabe vigilante already, Dick guessed that she was a complete novice that didn't know how to avoid surveillance.

She wouldn't last long.

"Good morning, Master Richard," Alfred greeted, making Dick jump. The enticing scent of hot cocoa reached the teen's nose and he turned to look longingly at the warm beverage. The butler frowned in disapproval at Dick's choice of attire in the cold cave as he placed the tray of cocoa beside the computer. "You are going to catch a chill, sir."

Dick shrugged sheepishly.

" _Another_ one, sir," Alfred emphasised. "You have not long recovered from your previous bout. Are you that eager to return for another session of bed rest to recuperate?"

Dick cringed at that prospect (even as a part of him filed it away as a valid contingency plan for avoiding a conversation with Zee) and then reached for the mug and let it warm his hands. Alfred quickly found a blanket and wrapped it around the teen's shoulders, his concern not completely sated until Dick's shivers had finally ceased.

"Are you waiting for Master Bruce's return, sir?" Alfred asked as he set about tidying the cave.

Dick hesitated for all of a millisecond, but Alfred still managed to catch it. _Freaking ninja butler._ "Yep."

Alfred straightened up where he stood behind the teen and raised an eyebrow at his young charge. Dick watched the butler's reflection in the computer screen and knew that he needed to change the subject quick before Alfred managed to get him spilling everything about Zatanna. "So, a new teen vigilante, huh?" he tried quickly, gesturing at the screen. "Do you reckon there's going to be a Batgirl in the cave soon?"

Alfred paused before replying, letting Dick know that he wouldn't be letting the subject drop completely. "I doubt it, sir," he allowed himself a small smile. "You are plenty enough for the Bat to handle as it is."

* * *

"Thank you for your assistance," Superman ground out the words as if they hurt him physically to say them. "Cheshire."

Cheshire smirked at the Boy Scout, her expression as clear as day without her mask. On the Kryptonian's left, Wonder Woman levelled a powerful glare at the assassin, her grip on the sword at her waist tight enough to make her knuckles turn white. And then there was Batman. He was glaring too, but Cheshire was pretty sure that his natural expression was just set to perma-scowl. "It's been a pleasure."

Behind her Roy… _ahem_ … Red Arrow took her elbow to warn her off of any more taunts or smart comments. But that would really take all the fun out of the League asking _her_ for a favour now, wouldn't it?. "We should go," Red said, tugging her elbow a little more forcefully.

"I must say," Cheshire ignored him completely. "The accommodations were lovely – and the conversation… _riveting._ I do hope my father will be receiving the same treatment?"

They were gathered in the Hall of Justice's library, the usual tourists and press vacated from the observation deck above. The League didn't particularly want their association with an assassin plastered on the front page. Cheshire had spent the past month in a windowless room, occasionally dragged out for another interrogation with the Martian Manhunter. It wasn't until she had agreed to give them intel on Sportsmaster that they had decided that she was honest in her claim of not knowing anything.

She didn't feel bad about trading her freedom for her father's. He'd do it to her in a heartbeat.

"There are plenty of crimes that we could hold you on," Wonder Woman pointed out threateningly. "If you _wish_ to stay."

"Oh no, I couldn't," Cheshire smiled. "I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome."

"We _really_ should be going," Red Arrow insisted, actually dragging Cheshire back a step. She threw a glare at him, but he was immune to the withering look. It was one of the things that she liked… _found interesting_ … about him. He cleared his throat, acting ever the professional. "I'll make sure that she gets out of town without causing any trouble."

"Such a gentleman," Cheshire cooed.

The three Leaguers just watched the two of them as they turned and left the library, Cheshire brazenly waving over her shoulder at them. They were both in civvies, so as they walked out into the winter evening no one paid them a second look. Red Arrow steered them to a car that was waiting for them and climbed behind the wheel. The moment that they were behind closed doors, he turned to face her. "Are you trying to get yourself imprisoned for life?" he asked, exasperated.

Jade smiled at him. "Were you worried about me?"

Roy avoided the question and started the engine. He stared straight ahead as he navigated the car out of the Hall's grounds and onto the streets. "Thanks," he muttered after a while. "For agreeing to come in for questioning."

"You tell anyone about that and you'll find yourself with a new breathing hole," Jade threatened, though there was a note of playfulness to her tone. She leaned forward and opened the glove box, glad to find her uniform and an assortment of her favourite weapons. "As far as everyone else is concerned, I came in _very_ unwillingly."

"Well, you didn't exactly make it easy for me," Roy pointed out as he rubbed absently at his still tender ribs. "You couldn't have pulled your punches a _little_ bit?"

Jade raised an eyebrow coyly. "And ruin the fun? You needed a good workout anyway."

Roy rolled his eyes and returned his focus to the road. Jade still wasn't entirely sure why she had agreed to be taken into custody by the scarlet archer. After everything that had happened with her sister's kidnapping – particularly the fight against the Shadows Hook and Black Spider, she should have vanished off of the radar. She should have gone to ground and found a way to repair her reputation.

She most definitely should not have agreed to meet Red Arrow on the rooftop of a bar. They definitely shouldn't have had a couple of drinks together and retired to the back room that she had rented to hide out in. And the morning after, she definitely shouldn't have agreed to play prisoner to the League.

But she had. And oddly, she didn't regret it. _Any_ of it.

"Are you alright?" Roy broke the silence in the car, and Jade found herself touched by the genuine concern in his voice. If she wasn't careful, she could find herself getting attached to the archer. He met her eyes. "I know that Martian telepathy can be… invasive."

Jade scoffed. "I've been trained to handle far worse than that."

"Right."

"If you're worried about your League friends finding out about…" _Us?_ Jade wondered if that was what they were, and then shook her head. She plastered on a confident smirk. "Manhunter didn't find out anything that I didn't want him to know. Your secret's safe."

Roy nodded. They fell into silence once more until they reached the city limits and joined the freeway. "So... where do you want to go?"

Jade thought about it for a moment. "I'd like to see my sister."

"She and your mother are staying at a safe house," Roy informed her. "I don't know where it is."

"Well… I'm sure you could find out."

* * *

"I am actually going stir crazy!"

Wally looked up at his girlfriend who was pacing the length of the small living room. Artemis kicked at the threadbare carpet with an irritated huff. She was dressed in civvies with her long hair let loose in wild cascades down her back. The cast on her ankle had been taken off a while ago, leaving no obvious sign of the kidnapping – other than her current living arrangements of course.

She and her mother were living in a tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere; the windows boarded up to make the place appear abandoned to anyone passing by (not that there were many pedestrians around here). Inside, however, it was done up with all the creature comforts of home. A fully stocked kitchen, modern bathroom, television, books… there was even an elevator installed so that Paula Crock could easily get around in her wheelchair.

It didn't seem that bad a place to Wally, but then again, he wasn't the one being forced to live there. Artemis had been there for two months now; Wally's visits and the occasional supply drop from the League her only contact with the outside world. After being kidnapped and imprisoned in a small room, and then being confined to a bed for recovery… well, being trapped in a cottage with just her mother for company couldn't be fun.

"It'll be over soon, babe," Wally said reassuringly. Artemis flashed him a disbelieving look. "The League is investigating the case. They'll get the guy and then you can come home."

"Why am _I_ the only one in a safe house?" she snapped.

Wally sighed. They had had this exact conversation precisely ninety-seven times since the decision had been made. The moment that her cast had been taken off and she no longer needed regular medical attention she and Paula had been packed up and shipped off to the safe house, leaving her with very little say in the decision. "Because you were the main target. We know for certain that your civilian ID is blown, so you are the most vulnerable to a second attack."

Artemis scowled at his logic.

Wally stood and took her hands, effectively halting her attempts to wear a trench in the floor. She looked up and met his green eyes, looking thoroughly miserable. Wally pressed a kiss on her nose. "I'm just glad that you're safe."

Artemis wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down so that their lips met. His hands dropped to her waist and pulled her closer, locking them in to the kiss.

" _Ahem,"_ Paula cleared her throat loudly as she wheeled into the living room. The two teens broke apart like they'd been electrocuted; Wally flushing a brighter red than his hair and Artemis pointedly looking at anything other than her mother or boyfriend. "It is good to see you again, Wally."

"Uh… you too, Ms Crock…" Wally replied awkwardly. He and Artemis had sprung far enough apart to allow plenty of space for Paula's wheelchair to fit between them. As she rolled past she glared threateningly at the speedster, her eyes promising all sorts of torture if he dared to hurt her daughter. It wasn't until she had left the room that Wally released the breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "Your mother is scary."

Artemis laughed at her boyfriend and then led him over to the sofa, pushing him into the seat so that she could cuddle up against his side. "So tell me. What is happening outside my prison?"

"Oh, nothing much," Wally half-shrugged, his other shoulder currently occupied as Artemis' cushion. "Bats hasn't been giving us any missions lately because of the whole mysterious bad guy thing, which is making training pretty much pointless. Canary's been trying to get us motivated, but it's not really working. It's not the same without you and Rob."

"How is the little troll?" Artemis asked.

"He's alright." Wally propped his feet up on the coffee table, but his girlfriend quickly nudged his legs and he removed his offending limbs from the furniture. "It's his first day back tomorrow."

"Ah." Artemis muttered apprehensively, as if she knew something terrible was about to happen.

Wally furrowed his brow. "'Ah'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Is Zee gonna be at the cave tomorrow?" the blonde asked, making Wally's confusion deepen as he nodded. "Well, that's going to end badly."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Wally said bluntly, completely lost when it came to woman who were not his girlfriend (and sometimes even if they were…) "Why would it end badly? I thought they were doing the whole long distance relationship thing."

Artemis threw Wally a sideways look. "He hasn't told you?" she asked, making the confusion on her boyfriend's face grow to comic proportions. "Typical. Just keep an eye on them, and make sure Dick doesn't do anything stupid."

"He's a Bat," Wally shrugged. "They don't do 'stupid'."

Artemis just smirked knowingly.

* * *

Gotham City at night.

How to describe it? It's pretty much the same as it is during the day, but you know, darker. And more dangerous. It's all modern glass towers and Gothic architecture meshed together like something out of an Escher painting. Summer or winter doesn't really make a whole lot of difference either – the nights are always cold, and the perpetual smog keeps it void of starlight.

All in all, not the most appealing place to spend a Friday night. Especially if you happen to be sitting on a rooftop getting soaked through by a constant drizzle of rain.

Barbara Gordon loved it.

She loved the city, and as she looked down on it from above, she knew that she was doing the right thing. Admittedly, she wasn't entirely sure what it was that she was doing, but it felt good – if a little wet – regardless. Now all she needed was a bad guy to beat up and she'd be golden.

She was Batgirl.

Okay, so it wasn't the most original of names, especially in a city already protected by a Bat, but she figured that the symbol she had painted on her chest held the power she needed if she was going to seal her position as a Gotham vigilante. So what if she had cheated a little to jump-start her reputation? That wasn't what this whole thing was about. It was about helping people.

As if on cue, a store alarm sounded a couple of streets away from where Batgirl was holding her vigil. Grinning beneath her makeshift cowl, she took a running start and launched herself onto the adjacent rooftop. She rolled on impact and came up running, covering the distance between her and the howling alarm in under two minutes.

She'd like the see the GCPD beat that response time.

Not that this was a competition. She had huge respect for her father and the GCPD (those that weren't corrupt, that is). In a city as mad as Gotham it was amazing that there were still people applying to join the police force at all. Kudos to them.

She came to a stop on the edge of the building currently wailing like a banshee, quickly determining that she was above the jewellers on Moench Row. Judging by the glass all over the pavement, the alarm had been set off by someone throwing something through the window – not exactly the subtlest method of robbing a jewellery store.

A figured stumbled out of the shattered window, dithered over which way to run, and then hung a left. Batgirl followed his progress from her perch, creeping silently along the parapet as the thief headed down the alley that ran beside the store. A porch light on a motion sensor suddenly flooded the tight space in light and illuminated the perp: a man, mid-to-late thirties, wearing a rain coat and fedora and carrying a leather bag that was most likely laden with expensive gems.

Easy takedown.

Batgirl grabbed some climbing gear from her back pack and found a secure pipe to work as her anchor point. She clipped the other end of the rope to the belt on her costume; and then as the light clicked off she lowered herself down quickly and quietly. The stealth approach was going really well for her. That was until she released the line. And landed in a puddle.

The thief spun to face her as she landed with a loud splash. The porch light flashed on again at the sudden movement, making Batgirl squint through the eye slits of the cowl. He blinked, as if stunned to see another person, and then yelled, "Lenore!"

_Did he just call me a laundry detergent?_

"The rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore!" The thief elaborated, taking two staggering steps towards her with a manic grin, before falling back and looking utterly horrified. For a moment, Batgirl was frozen in shock – she had never had a perp quote Edgar Allen Poe to her before. Then again, in Gotham, she really should have expected the crazies. "Darkness there and nothing more…"

"Ooo-kay…" Batgirl muttered to herself as she raised her hands in a placating gesture. The thief watched her curiously, caught somewhere between awestruck and wary. "How about you hand me that bag of stolen goods, and we'll call the nice men in white coats to help you, kay?"

"Lenore?" the thief asked. The light switched off at their stillness. When it came back on again, the thief was inches away from Batgirl's face, making the teen vigilante jump backwards. "Nevermore! Quoth the Raven. You are not my lost Lenore!"

Batgirl really didn't want to hurt the guy – he was clearly a few fries short of a Happy Meal, but he was really beginning to freak her out. She knew that she could take him, it would probably only take one punch to floor him, but it didn't seem fair. She was beginning to suspect that there was something more going on here than a crazy man breaking and entering. "Erm… do you even know that you just broke into a jewellery store?"

"For my lost Lenore," the thief replied, clutching the bag a little tighter. "Vainly I had sought to borrow, from my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore. For the fair and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore. Only this and nothing more."

"Right…" Batgirl attempted to translate. "So you're stealing for Lenore?"

The thief froze and cocked his head to one side as he studied Batgirl. He lifted the bag and held it defensively against his chest. "You are not my lost Lenore?"

"No."

The thief screamed like a madman and launched himself at Batgirl, tackling her beneath the ribs and slamming her against the asphalt. The teen struggled to draw a breath as the wind was knocked out of her, barely able to get her arms up to block the assault of wild hits and slaps that the thief rained down at her. "Take thy beak from out my heart, and thy form from off my – _oof!"_

Batgirl brought her knee up between his legs, the crude move effectively cutting off the thief's nonsensical shouts. He pulled back to instinctively protect the family jewels, giving her the chance to shove him off of her. She rolled with him, pinning his chest between her knees and rearing back her hand to strike him. But there wasn't any need.

The thief's eyes were open and glazed over as they stared back at her without sight.

He was dead.

 _Did I…?_ Batgirl wondered, horrified at the thought. She was still frozen, her fist still ready in mid-air. Though she was physically still, her mind was racing, analysing everything that had just happened with the clarity of an eidetic memory. At no point had she used any move that could have possibly killed. So why was she looming over a corpse right now?

The porch light clicked off, leaving the alley silent and dark aside from Batgirl's heavy breathing. The distant rumble of traffic and city noise didn't register with the teenager as she struggled to come to terms with what had just happened.

A black shadow dropped from above and stepped toward the vigilante and the deceased thief. The motion activated the light one last time, illuminating the intimidating form of Gotham's senior protector. Batgirl blinked, and gradually turned to find herself being glared at by the infamous Batman. That was when she realised that she was still poised to strike a dead man and she hurriedly staggered to her feet.

The presence of the Bat was petrifying, and Barbara found herself shaking as she squeaked "I swear I didn't do it!"


	2. Part Two

**Part Two**

_Recognised: Robin B01._

As the light faded, Dick stepped out of the zeta tube and into the cave. Though the world looked darker through the lenses of his shades, he still gently touched a hand to them just to confirm that they were still in place. It felt weird to wear them again after so long of not needing to; but at the same time, comforting. He wasn't Dick Grayson any more.

He was Robin.

He took a deep breath to get his nerves under control and then scanned his surroundings as if expecting something to jump out at him. He knew that he was just being paranoid, but he couldn't help feeling on edge. He was so not looking forward to this.

"Finally!" Wally yelled in greeting as he ran into the chamber and skidded to a stop in front of the Boy Wonder. "Dude! We've been waiting for ages! Black Canary's gonna be here soon for training…" the speedster paused. "Are you cleared for training yet?"

Robin was tempted to say no and go home, but that would have been a cowardly lie. Just that morning, Alfred had told him that he could participate in training so long as he took it easy. Robin suspected that he had only said that because the team was highly unlikely to be deployed on a mission any time soon, keeping his chances of being severely injured again to a healthy minimum. "Yeah, I'm cleared."

"That is good to hear," Kaldur answered as he and the rest of the team entered the chamber as well. Connor and M'gann followed close behind the Atlantean, though there was a gap between the two of them that was unusual. M'gann beamed brightly at Robin, and Connor nodded in acknowledgement, both of them looking pleased to see him. Trailing behind them was Zatanna, who was purposely looking at anything other than the Boy Wonder.

The silent treatment. Good, Robin could handle the silent treatment.

_Recognised: Black Canary 13._

The blonde Leaguer stepped out of the zeta tube while adjusting the glove of her uniform. She looked up in mild surprise to find the team already gathered before her – this eagerness to train had clearly not been the norm of late. When she spotted the Boy Wonder among the group of teenagers she gave him a warm smile in greeting. "It's good to have you back, Robin."

The Gotham teen gave a quick smile in reply, well aware of the glare that Zee was levelling at the back of his head. If the blonde leaguer noticed the angry vibes radiating from the homo-magi in waves, she did a wonderful job of feigning ignorance.

Black Canary strode into the centre of the cavern's training circle, the ring lighting up automatically as if sensing the coming battle. She placed her hands on her hips as she addressed the teens. "Alright, team, listen up. We are the good guys, and as such I have always taught you to take the moral high ground and fight fair. But one-on-one battles are hardly guaranteed and sometimes you just have to screw the rules to survive. Today is about using teamwork to take down bigger and stronger opponents."

"We've got that down," Wally smirked. Canary levelled a glare at him for daring to interrupt, making the speedster shift awkwardly. "I mean… we've done that – _do_ that on a regular basis. We've worked as a team loads of times to take down tougher bad guys – Blockbuster, Amazo…"

"Teamwork is only part of the lesson," Canary clarified, silencing Wally – a huge feat by anyone's standards. "Today is also about adapting to changing circumstances. So you've managed to beat Amazo and Blockbuster, for example – but what if it had been both together, _and_ your heavy hitters were absent?"

Canary let the question hang, her gaze settling on Wally as if expecting him to comment. Surprisingly, the speedster remained silent, probably remembering their early battles and realising how screwed they would have been without Superboy.

"Best to find out in practice than out in the field," Black Canary answered her own question. "For the purpose of this exercise, you are going to be split into two teams. Kaldur, Wally and Robin will be the heroes, and Connor, M'gann and Zatanna will be the bad guys."

Instantly, M'gann shape shifted her civvies into a Goth-style black dress that would have made any villainess jealous, while Connor, for his part, simply scowled a little more severely. Zee fixed Robin with a glare that would have flambéed him if he had dared to meet her eyes.

"Just Connor to start with," Canary instructed, and the two girls backed away from the playing field slightly. "Begin."

Their teamwork had improved greatly over the past two years that they had been working together, but the trouble was, Connor knew all of their moves. Robin was the distraction, Kaldur was the frontal assault and Wally was the not-so-secret weapon – making their initial attempt to take Connor down an utter failure.

So they changed it up.

Wordlessly, they switched tactics. Kaldur became the distraction, taking his water bearers to hand and using them in whip form to restrain Connor's arms. It did little to hold the half-Kryptonian clone, but it bought enough time and attention for Robin to vanish and Wally to unleash a super-speed barrage of hits.

Connor ripped free of the solidified water ropes, yanking Kaldur with them and sending the Atlantean skidding across the floor – the computer's dialogue box of AQUALAD: FAIL skittering along after him. Connor then turned his attention to Wally, tripping the speedster so that he was slow enough to wrestle into a hold. That was when Robin left his hiding place in the rafters and dropped his full weight onto the clone's shoulders. The landing jarred his entire body, making the still tender bullet wound twinge ever-so-slightly, but having the desired effect. Connor loosened his grip on Wally and dropped to one knee.

"Zatanna," Black Canary called. "You're in."

Robin was a little preoccupied with Connor to really pay attention to Kaldur and Zee, as the clone still had both him and Wally effectively trapped. Connor had one arm wrapped around Wally's shoulders, pinning the speedster in place and preventing him from running. He had also reached up and grabbed Robin from his landing place on his shoulders, so now the Gotham teen was hanging upside down in a reverse fireman's carry that was so not doing his back any favours.

"M'gann," Canary said.

Wally landed a short series of super-speed kicks to Connor's shin, irritating the clone into releasing him. Immediately he sped off so that he could run around their three opponents and deliver some sneak attacks, but he quickly found himself running on nothing but thin air. M'gann cackled as she suspended Wally a few metres off the ground with her telekinesis – getting _very_ into her role as a villainess.

With Kaldur still holding his own against Zee's spells and M'gann revelling in her capture of Wally, all Robin had to worry about was the Kryptonian. But Connor was acutely aware of the smaller boy's recent injuries and was being very cautious as he handled the Boy Wonder. Instead of risking hurting Robin any further by misjudging his own strength, Connor simply pawned him off onto another opponent.

Before Robin knew what was happening, he and Kaldur had switched places. He glanced up from where he had landed in a crouch to find Zee glaring right at him.

This was so not going to end well. For him.

" _Nrut Nibor otni a tibbar!"_ she yelled.

There was a flash of blinding white light, and suddenly Robin was seeing the world from a significantly lower perspective. Where a fifteen year old boy had been just moments before, a black fluffy rabbit with long floppy ears and odd blue eyes now sat.

Silence enveloped the cave as the team and Black Canary looked between Zee and bunny-Robin in surprise. M'gann even lost her concentration and accidentally dropped Wally, but the speedster barely grumbled in complaint, too busy staring at the rabbit that had been his best friend moments before.

"What?" Zee demanded defensively. "You didn't say that we couldn't use powers!"

"That was not an invitation to turn your teammate into a domestic animal," Canary retorted coolly, though she still looked a little shocked that the mild mannered Zatanna could do something like that. "Now if you could turn him back, please?"

Zatanna rolled her eyes and very reluctantly muttered the reversal spell.

"What the frick just happened?" Robin asked once he had been de-rabbitised. He was sat on the cave floor, blinking to clear the haze left behind by the spell, his nose still twitching a little.

It was Wally who answered. "Zee just turned you into a rabbit."

"He deserved it!" Zatanna snapped. This made the team blink uncomprehendingly as they tried to figure out how Robin could have possibly pissed off the homo-magi so badly in the past twenty minutes; none of them knowing that this fight was six months in the making. Robin just winced, waiting to be called out on all his shortcomings as a boyfriend. "Where the hell were you when Artemis was kidnapped? What could have been so important that you just _ignored_ my best friend, huh?"

Robin blinked. That was not what he was expecting to be yelled at for. Zatanna had no idea that he was Dick Grayson – the other half of the kidnapped duo, so the fact that Robin had been glaringly absent during the entire fiasco probably wasn't endearing him to her; but that was far from his worst offence. "Really? That's what you're gonna be mad at me for?"

"And the rest," Zee added cryptically.

"Umm… what are you talking about?" Wally bravely attempted to intercede, taking a step towards Robin. Everyone else just seemed to be flash frozen as they watched the exchange in astonishment.

Zatanna glared some more, but didn't elaborate.

"No, really, go on," Robin prompted from where he was still sat on the floor. "Tell everyone. You're the one who went all bunny-boiler before we got a chance to talk…"

" _Talk?"_ Zee hissed disbelievingly. "With _you?_ That'd be a freaking miracle! You've been avoiding me for half a year!"

"I wouldn't say 'avoiding' exactly," Robin couldn't help but interrupt her burgeoning tirade. "You've kind of been in a different solar system…"

"Gah!" Zatanna growled in frustration. "That's not even a valid excuse! You could have called! Sent an email! Something! I've been home for nearly a month and you still haven't even _tried_ to talk to me – what the hell am I supposed to make of that?! You didn't…" she paused, her voice dropping dramatically in volume. "You didn't even say goodbye before I left. And I don't understand _why_."

Guilt hit Robin like a physical punch to the gut. He knew that he hadn't handled things right; but perhaps he had underestimated the effect that his silence may have had on his now most likely _ex_ -girlfriend. He had his reasons for his actions, but he didn't particularly want to air them in front of the team and Black Canary. As he sat there, trying to figure out the best way to diffuse the situation, he could feel their eyes boring into him, seeing him in a completely different light.

It was Black Canary who unfroze first and attempted to intercede, but Zee just sighed heavily and stormed off. The elder hero then tried to confront Robin, but the Boy Wonder didn't give her a chance either. He was on his feet and heading for the zeta tubes before she could even open her mouth to utter a word.

He should have known that Kid Flash would outrun him.

"What the hell was that about?" Wally asked, standing in the way of the controls. Robin huffed and attempted to side-step around him, but the speedster was having none of it. Behind them, Black Canary was persuading Kaldur, M'gann and Connor to give the two of them some privacy, which Robin appreciated – but couldn't she take Wally with them too?

"Nothing," Dick mumbled irritably.

"Well clearly it is _something_ if that's what happens when you and Zee are in the same room together," Wally retorted, not giving up on guarding the zeta tubes. "Have you really been ignoring her? What's going on with you two? Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?"

"Wally!" Dick snapped impatiently. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it _does_ , Dick," the redhead said insistently, grabbing the Boy Wonder by the shoulders to try and distract him from escaping. It took every shred of Dick's willpower not to react instinctively and judo flip his best friend onto the concrete. "Please tell me what this is about."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You _will_ talk to me," Wally persisted, and then pulled out his trump card. "Or I'll tell Alfred, and you can explain it to him."

"You wouldn't." _He would._

"Try me," Wally dared, the mischievous glint in his green eyes warning Dick that it was probably best for him not to push the issue. The last thing he needed was the Bat Butler on his case – Alfred already suspected that something was wrong with Dick and he really didn't want to have to explain this teenage drama to the elder gentleman.

Dick drew in a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he conceded resignedly. "But not here."

Wally grinned broadly. "I know just the place."

* * *

The library of Gotham Academy was completely deserted. This wasn't an especially unusual thing; though before the mass-kidnapping attempt three months prior, there would have been at least a handful of students studying there, even on a weekend. Now there was nobody. Even the librarian was conspicuously missing. No one wanted to hang out where a teacher had been killed and several students kidnapped.

Barbara didn't mind. It creeped her out a little that her best friend had been shot only a few feet away from where she was currently sitting, but she put that to the back of her mind and decided to enjoy the silence instead. She had work to do that she would rather no one was looking over her shoulder for anyway. Batman may have told her to stay off his streets as Batgirl, but that didn't mean that Barbara Gordon couldn't do some digging…

Spread out on the desk before her were several scraps of paper, a notebook, a huge tome containing the entire works of Edgar Allen Poe (and several other American poets) and her laptop; which she was currently staring at in confusion. What she was reading just didn't make any sense.

She had accessed the GCPD mainframe (thanks Dad!) and found the autopsy report on the crazy jewellery store thief. According to the coroner, the guy had died from chronic heart failure – even though he had showed no signs of being susceptible before. He also had a cerebral haemorrhage, but there was no obvious cause. It was all very suspicious, but it didn't explain what in the world the guy was doing breaking and entering while spouting quotes from _The Raven_.

It made even less sense when she found out who the guy was. Howard Lemming, a high school English teacher at Happy Harbour High. That could explain the literary connection – but what was he doing in Gotham?

"Barbara Gordon?"

Barbara jumped at the voice and twisted in her seat. Almost directly behind her was an Asian woman in a smart suit with short black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes. Barbara wondered how the woman could possibly have gotten so close without her noticing, and then realised that she hadn't answered. _Awkward..._ "Um… yes?"

The woman gave her a warm smile and then asked if she could join the redhead. With a slightly apprehensive nod, Barbara acquiesced. The woman's shoes made barely a sound on the linoleum as she came round to sit at the opposite side of the desk. She cast a curious eye over the teen's reading material. "It is good to see students actually making use of the library to study, particularly on a Saturday, though I didn't think that Poe's work was on the curriculum this semester."

"It's a side project," Barbara replied shortly, and then berated herself for being so defensive. Acting suspiciously just made people look at you closer – she needed to be nonchalant. She forced a nervous smile onto her face and tried to change the subject. "Sorry, it's just being here, after everything that happened. It's put me a little on edge."

The woman nodded understandingly. "Ah, yes. It was one of your friends that was taken, was it not?"

"Yes, my best friend, Dick Grayson. He was the one that was shot," Barbara answered, her eyes automatically darting to where there had been a bloodstain on the carpet. A bloodstain that could so easily have been a chalk outline. Not that there was anything there now, of course. The Academy had actually re-carpeted the whole room in an attempt to put the sordid event behind them.

"He's an incredibly brave boy, standing up to those kidnappers like he did," the woman said appreciatively. "How is he recovering from the ordeal?"

"He says he's fine," Barbara shrugged. "He should be coming back to school next week if his doc gives the final okay."

The woman smiled. "It is amazing how quickly the youthful can bounce back, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically, before changing the subject. "So what is your interest in Poe's work?"

Barbara tried to hide her wince as she struggled to come up with a story. It's not like she could just say 'a bad guy was yelling quotes from his poems before he died' after all. "It's just an extra credit assignment," she decided on, her pause for thought barely milliseconds long. "Everyone always focuses on the Raven because of the symbolism and such, but I'm trying to figure out if there are hidden meanings behind Lenore."

"Interesting," The woman furrowed her brow in thought. "She is the object of the poem after all, important in her absence. But why is that your focus?"

 _Because Mr Lemming seemed to think that he was stealing for her... which could be a connection back to the real criminal behind last night's theft?_ Again, Barbara couldn't exactly say that. Instead she shrugged. "I guess it's just a different way of looking at the poem."

"It is certainly that," the woman agreed, before standing and straightening her suit. "But I must be going; the lessons aren't just going to plan themselves."

"You're a teacher?" Barbara blurted, making the woman raise an eyebrow at her outburst. "Uh, sorry ma'am; I just didn't recognise you. I didn't think the Academy was taking on new staff after everything that happened."

The woman gave a small laugh. "It is quite alright. There was an opening as a Political Science teacher that the school has had trouble filling, considering its predecessor's fate. I took the post as a favour to Principal Pritchard."

"I wondered why PoliSci was suddenly back on my class schedule," Barbara muttered.

"You don't sound overly pleased about that," the teacher pointed out wryly. "Not one of your favourite subjects, I'm assuming." The expression on Barbara's face must have said it all, because the woman practically grinned as if she had just been handed a fun challenge. "Well, I shall have to see about changing that."

Barbara smiled unenthusiastically.

"Well, now I really must be going," the teacher said. "I look forwards to seeing you in class, Miss Gordon, and good luck with your assignment. It has been interesting talking with you."

"Uh, you too, Miss…?" Barbara trailed off, realising that she didn't even know the new teacher's name.

"Wu San," she smiled. "My name is Ms Wu San."

* * *

Artemis lay on the floor of her room, staring up at the ceiling. She was at that point in her boredom where she honestly sought entertainment counting the number of tiles that loomed above her. She had started the task while lying her bed, but found that that didn't quite give her the best vantage point; and so now she was flat on her back on the wooden floor, wishing for something, _anything_ , to happen.

It was the weekend, for crying out loud! She should be out, doing something, like most normal people; or at the very least hanging out at the cave with the Team. But no, she was stuck in a tiny house in the middle of nowhere, counting ceiling tiles.

She understood the necessity behind it, she really did. But that didn't mean that she liked it. Getting kidnapped was not fun by any stretch of the imagination; and the possibility of being 're-educated' (whatever that meant) didn't sound very appealing either. But as far as she was concerned, protective custody with only her Mom for company was barely a step above that.

It didn't help that she was worried about her friends. She had watched, helplessly, as Zee and Robin's relationship diminished into nothing. Zatanna had kept her updated on Robin's complete lack of communication, asking Artemis for advice, but she didn't understand it either. She knew that something was wrong with Dick, and that it had nothing to do with super villains or kidnapping plots. He usually wasn't the kind of person to just ignore someone. Especially someone who had been through what Zee had. He was usually way more emotionally in-tune with people than that.

And then there was the whole thing with M'gann and Connor. What the frick had happened to them two, Artemis had no idea. But they were drifting apart, and it just seemed so wrong to the archer. They were the couple that had been together since pretty much the beginning – not like her and Wally and their constant bickering.

Everyone was falling apart, and Artemis wondered how the Team could possibly function together with so much tension under the surface.

Maybe that's why there was that kind of unspoken rule to never date a teammate…

Artemis was yanked from her musings by the shrill ring of her cell phone. She was up and moving in an instant, glad for the break in the tedium. A picture of Zatanna flashed on her screen, and Artemis quickly hit the accept button as dread built up in her stomach. "Hey Zee, you okay?"

" _No,"_ Zatanna sniffed, clearly trying not to cry and failing miserably. _"I don't understand, Arty. What did I do?"_

"Tell me what happened," Artemis instructed. She needed details – partly because it was really hard to give advice with no context, but also because she needed to know what was going on in the outside world.

" _I… I lost my temper…"_ Zee admitted between sniffles. _"He was just so nonchalant and ignoring me right to my face and he didn't even say hello to me and we were sparring and when he had to fight me he just got this look on his face like he knew what he had done but he won't even talk to me let alone apologise and…"_

"Take a breath, Zee," Artemis interrupted, worried her friend would accidentally asphyxiate herself before she even got to the end of the story. The homo-magi did as she was told, but it sounded more like a sob over the phone. "What did you do?"

There came a beat of pure silence. And then: _"I turned him into a rabbit."_

Artemis couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. She just got this image in her head of a cute little bunny wearing the Robin costume and domino mask, twitching its nose all indignantly, and she was practically rolling on the ground in uncontrollable giggles. In her own defence, it had been a scarily long time since she had anything to laugh about.

" _Arty! This isn't funny!"_ Zee snapped, which just made Artemis giggle harder.

"I'm… sorry…" she managed between hiccups. Once she had finally regained control of herself she added. "Was he adorable? And did you get pictures?"

" _Arty!"_

"Right, sorry," Artemis apologised, a little more seriously this time. "So, then what happened? Did anyone else see?"

" _The whole team. And Black Canary,"_ Zatanna replied, sounding mortally embarrassed. " _They just stared at me like they couldn't believe what I had done; but I didn't care! I was just so angry! And then when BC made me turn him back he_ still _wouldn't even acknowledge me, so I started yelling and we got into an argument…"_

"About…?" Artemis prompted.

" _You, at first."_

"Me?"

" _When you were kidnapped with that Grayson kid the whole team did everything they could to rescue you,"_ Zee explained, making the archer feel extremely guilty. She knew that Robin and Zee had been having problems before the kidnapping, but it seemed that that event had only compounded the problem. Or at the very least, given Zatanna a valid excuse to yell. _"But Robin didn't do anything. He didn't even call in to check on things. I've read the reports, and Robin isn't in_ any _of them."_

"Zee…" Artemis tried to figure out what she could say. Telling her that Dick Grayson _was_ Robin would clear up this whole mess; but she was sworn to secrecy by _Batman_. And if Robin didn't want to tell his girlfriend his real name, it wasn't her place to do so for him. But she wasn't going to outright lie to her best friend for him. "You know that I don't blame Rob, don't you?"

" _I know you don't,"_ Zee sighed. _"Even he looked a little stunned that that's what I was yelling at him for. I guess it was just the straw that broke the camel's back or whatever. I can't believe our first conversation in months devolved into a shouting match."_

It was Artemis' turn to sigh. "And you have no idea why he stopped talking to you?" The archer could hear Zee shaking her head. "What was the last thing you talked about? The last proper conversation you guys had?"

" _Oh, I don't know,"_ Zee shrugged in frustration. _"It was just one of our random chats that we used to have. It was about birthdays or favourite colours or something. I asked him if he and his civilian ID had the same answers and then... oh."_

"'Oh'?"

" _I, uh... I think I might have asked him what his real name was,"_ Zatanna recalled. _"A couple of times actually. But he wouldn't be mad about that, would he? I mean, we'd been dating for a while and we were kind of serious, so it would make sense that he could tell me that secret, right?"_

Artemis chewed her lip apprehensively, as she began to realise just what had gone wrong. It wasn't as if Robin liked to keep secrets, but his civilian ID was one that he was particularly protective over. It had taken a kidnapping that led to Artemis figuring it out on her own, and the team finding out the truth just in time to save his life, for him to tell any of them (except Wally). She knew that it was because his ID was so closely tied to Batman's that he was so defensive. He would be revealing a secret that wasn't his to tell. But she could also understand that from an outside perspective it just looked like he was lying. Constantly. It used to frustrate her too, once upon a time.

But it wasn't like she could explain that to Zatanna. Before Zee had left for Thanagar, Artemis was totally on her side because she only _knew_ that side of the story, and from that perspective, Robin was being a total jerk. But now that she also knew his secret she felt trapped between the two of them. She couldn't really support one or the other – and it was _incredibly_ frustrating.

"So..." she attempted to go with diplomacy. "...you pestered a Bat for his real name?"

" _I didn't 'pester'!"_ Zee denied forcefully. _"I just asked a couple of times, is all. I realised that he had told me that he had two different birthdays; one in April and one in December, and so I asked him if he was secretly the Queen of England. It started as a joke, but then I got curious and I wanted to know what was true and what was just another lie to go with those stupid sunglasses. I don't even know what colour his eyes are! How can you get serious with someone who won't even tell you their real birthday?"_

"Zee, you know how seriously Batman takes the whole secret ID thing," Artemis tried to explain, wincing when she heard Zatanna inhale sharply in anger. "I know that it's annoying, and Rob shouldn't have just ignored you, but…"

" _You're taking his side?!"_

"No!" Artemis cried. "I mean, I don't know. He was wrong to treat you the way he did, and he deserved to be turned into a rabbit, but maybe there's more to this that you're just not seeing…"

" _What do you mean '_ I'm _not seeing'?"_ Zatanna demanded, and the archer realised her slip-up. _"Do you know something that I don't? Did he tell you…?"_

A loud thump drowned out the last of her sentence.

"What was that?" Artemis asked out loud. She pulled the phone away from her ear to listen for any more weird sounds; Zatanna's grumbled _'Don't try and change the subject'_ going mostly unheard. And then someone rang the doorbell. It's not one of those sounds that should fill you with dread, but it had been a heck of a long time since she had heard it (what with being in the middle of nowhere and all). She hadn't even known that they had one. "There's someone at the door," she whispered into the cell phone.

Zatanna's tone changed instantly; going from irritation to concern in the space of a sentence. _"But you're in a safe house… no one knows you're there, do they?"_

Artemis shrugged, ignoring the fact that Zee couldn't actually see the gesture. A shiver of excitement ran down her spine at the prospect of something actually happening. The doorbell sounded again, making her heart beat faster as the adrenaline flowed. "I'm gonna check it out," she decided.

" _Arty, wait! You don't know who it is!"_

"It's probably just a really, really lost delivery guy," Artemis said offhandedly, already collecting her crossbow and creeping down the stairs. "I'll call you back later, Zee."

" _Arty!"_

Artemis disconnected the call, feeling a little guilty. She knew that if the situation was reversed she'd be pissed, but at that moment, she was more concerned by the mystery visitor. The ringing of the doorbell was replaced by a series of impatient knocks on the wooden door, and Artemis couldn't help the grin that lit up her features. It had been so long since she had felt the rush.

She snuck up to the window at the front of the house, crouching down so that she could peak through the gap between the lowest boards without giving herself away. When she saw who was standing on her doorstep, she couldn't decide whether she was mad or happy about the presence of another human being. She stood up, stalked to the front door and flung it open. She scowled at the two people standing before her.

The figure on the left grinned.

"For someone under protective custody, you sure are eager to open the front door."

* * *

Wally's ideal place to talk was Central City Park (not to be confused with Central Park in New York) a five minute walk from the speedster's local zeta tube. It was a huge green space in the middle of the city, full of trees and gardens with several running trails and kiddie playgrounds. There was even a huge lake complete with a pier and boathouse. All in all, a lovely place to hang out.

If it wasn't the middle of December.

On the plus side the park was pretty much deserted bar the odd jogger and a really determined fisherman; which was perfect for what they wanted. It was freezing cold and getting dark already despite the fact it was only four in the afternoon, but Dick just pulled his jacket a little tighter and ignored the chill. Wally led them to a bench right by the water's edge, far away from any of the park's other patrons. No chance of them possibly being overheard.

"So, shall we get right to it?" Wally asked straight of the bat. Dick threw him a sideways look, telling him without words just how much he would really rather not talk about it. The glare wasn't even hindered by his shades as he knew that the dark glasses would only make him look more conspicuous.

"So this is your 'perfect place'?" Dick tried to distract with a question.

Wally raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, though unable to resist answering. "It's on my way home from school, and I've brought Artemis here on a couple of dates. It's the only place I've ever managed to get her tell me anything, so I figured it would work on you too."

"Dude, bringing me to your favourite make out spot? Not cool."

Wally rolled his eyes, not taking the bait. "You do realise that we're not leaving here until you talk, right? So tell me what the frick is going on with you and Zee already."

Dick sighed, defeated. "It's going to sound really dumb."

"Dude, she turned you into a rabbit," Wally pointed out matter-of-factly. "It might sound stupid, but it's gotta be important to you two to make her do that. What happened?"

"She wanted to know my real name," Dick reluctantly admitted. "And I didn't want to tell her. She was really persistent about it; always asking me random questions to try and trip me up and make me tell her something about my civilian ID."

Wally looked away thoughtfully for a moment. "Maybe I'm being an idiot, but why couldn't you just tell her? You told me and the world didn't end. Bats didn't even go nuts when the team found out."

"The team finding out was a complete accident," Dick replied with a shrug. "I'm not upset that they know or anything, but I didn't _choose_ to tell them. I _wanted_ to tell you because I trust you, KF. You're my best friend…"

"But you don't trust Zatanna, you're _girlfriend?_ "

"I do, I just…" Dick chewed his lip, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. A dog walker came out of the woods and started walking around the edge of the lake, pausing for a few moments to chat with the fisherman. A pair of joggers in military fatigues appeared from the trees on the other side, cutting around behind the boathouse before following the path heading towards their bench. Dick took a deep breath. "I didn't _want_ to tell her, okay?"

"Because…?" Wally prompted. He had that gleam in his eye, as if he already knew the answer but just wanted Dick to say it first.

The two joggers passed them, allowing Dick a moment of silence before he had to answer. On the other side of the lake, the fisherman began packing up his gear in a hurry, as if he had just realised that he was really late for something. "Because telling her would have made things between us serious, and that might have freaked me out a little."

"Commitment issues," Wally smirked good-naturedly.

"I do not have commitment issues," Dick denied adamantly. He watched the fisherman as he accidentally knocked over his rod in his hurry to pack up, his body language clearly flustered even from that distance. Dick noticed that he kept checking around, his gaze repetitively drawn to where the dog walker had vanished back into the woods. Something felt off, but Dick put it down to leftover anxiety from his trip to the cave.

"Actually, you do," Wally retorted, apparently not noticing the fisherman's weird behaviour. "You're quite happy with a girl who only knows half of you, but the moment she wants to take it to the next level you start self-sabotaging. Have you really not spoken to her in all this time? Because I gotta say, that was a jerk move, dude."

Dick probably would have defended himself (or admitted that Wally had a point) but he was too busy people watching. The fisherman had finally finished packing his gear and was now practically running towards the gates as fast as he could while fully laden. The two joggers were coming back round for a second lap, while another pair materialised from the woods and started heading the opposite way round the lake.

Wally was still talking. "…and what was with the whole not even saying goodbye thing? You didn't _actually_ do that, right? Dick? You listening?"

"How often do you come here again?" Dick asked. A shiver of paranoia ran down his spine as the four joggers started to close in on both sides. Maybe he was just on edge after everything that had happened. Joggers in a park were perfectly normal, right?

"Uh, pretty much every day," Wally replied, his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Why?"

The rules the League had instilled on the team following the kidnapping specifically told them not to follow a regular routine. Never become predictable. It made staging an ambush far too easy. But the park was on Wally's way home; even if he varied what time he left school, he would still always pass through there. And those joggers were looking awfully suspicious.

_It's not paranoia when they're really out to get you._

"I think we should go." Dick tugged on Wally's arm. The moment that he stood up, the four joggers increased their pace, another four joining them as if they had been hiding in the trees for their cue. "Like, now."

Wally noticed the pincer movement too, and quickly got to his feet. The trouble was, the joggers were coming at them from both sides, leaving the two teens very few options. They decided to head into the thin copse of trees behind them so that they could double back around and head for the gate. The joggers followed them.

"Should I, you know, _run?"_ Wally asked surreptitiously as they ran at a human pace through the trees. He had instinctively latched a protective hand onto Dick's wrist, a move he _never_ would have pulled on Robin, half dragging the younger teen as he upped the speed slightly. "I can carry you."

"No, they'll see," Dick said as glanced behind them. He could only see two of the joggers, which didn't make him feel any better. The others were probably running ahead to cut them off. "They might not know for sure who you are. No powers until we know what's going on."

Wally nodded, though he didn't look happy about it. They continued running like kids normally would when being chased by potentially homicidal joggers, though with a bit more grace and bit less panic than would have been expected. Then Dick spotted a shadow advancing on their right and tugged them both in the opposite direction milliseconds before one of their assailants would have caught them.

They broke out of the trees and onto the pavement that twisted towards the gate, but now there were ten of the joggers surrounding them. The exit was blocked, and without the option to fight back or speed off, they were practically herded towards the boathouse.

Once inside, they staggered to a stop, realising that escape wasn't going to be a possibility.

"Welcome to my trap, _niños_ _."_


	3. Part Three

**Part Three**

"What the hell are you doing here?" Artemis demanded.

She had reluctantly welcomed the two visitors into her temporary home, internally wondering if she was completely insane. From the kitchen she could hear her mother stopping whatever it was that she was doing (how she had missed the doorbell, Artemis had no idea) and begin wheeling herself towards the disturbance. "Artemis? What is going on?"

The crippled woman froze the moment that she laid eyes on their guests. "Jade?"

"And that nice Speedy boy," Artemis added sarcastically, making Roy pull the funniest face that she had ever seen. His expression alone was almost worth her sister's invasion. Almost. "But anyway, I repeat: What the hell are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see my family," Jade replied with a mock pout. Artemis just rolled her eyes. "Is that really so terrible, baby sister?"

Paula rolled forwards, still looking slightly stunned by her daughter's surprise appearance. "Of course not, Jade," she said placatingly, the role of mediator really not suiting her. "But how did you find us?"

"Oh that?" Jade replied scornfully. "That was shockingly easy. Then again, we couldn't really expect any better from the Justice League. I'm shocked that no one else has found you yet."

Artemis just about resisted the urge to punch her sister's smug face, figuring that that probably wouldn't help anything – except maybe make her feel a little better. It had been a long time since she had sparred, and she still had a load of leftover adrenaline with nowhere to go now that there was no threat. She was left feeling jittery, her grip on her crossbow still tight by her side. "I thought you were in the League's custody?"

Jade grinned wider than her namesake. "I was. But as I tried to tell everyone from the beginning, I don't know anything. Daddy dearest took my place."

This didn't bother Artemis in the slightest, her Dad deserved whatever the League decided to dish out, but her Mom winced slightly in her chair. It may have been a long time since she was the criminal Huntress, and although she had grown to respect the League since they had done so much to help her daughter, she wasn't always a fan. Technically, she did love Lawrence Crock once upon a time; enough to marry him and have two kids, so she probably didn't like the idea of him being at the mercy of the League.

"So what, you got out of jail and decided to visit?" Artemis asked sarcastically. She knew that she was being unnecessarily short with her sister, considering Jade had tried to help her during the whole kidnapping ordeal, but she was still on edge and she couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. _If Cheshire could find us…?_

Roy stepped forward as if to defend his 'girlfriend' (and wasn't that relationship just all kinds of weird?) but Jade just glared at him. He seemed to realise that he was greatly outnumbered by Crock/Nguyen women and sensibly stayed quiet. Maybe that was why Jade liked him – he was smart enough to know when to shut up. "Is there something wrong with wanting to see my baby sister after she gets kidnapped?"

"No," Paula answered. "It is good to see you, Jade. It is just a surprise; as you can imagine, we were not expecting company."

"Always expect the unexpected, mother," Jade replied with a sly smile. "You'll live longer that way."

"Do you deliberately try to sound foreboding?" Roy asked her quietly as Paula returned to the kitchen to brew them some tea. Artemis pretended that she wasn't listening as she tried to pace off her excess adrenaline.

"I am a ninja assassin," Jade retorted coyly. "It's part of the job description."

Artemis snorted, ruining her short-lived guise of not listening and earning herself two irritated glares. "Well, for a ninja assassin you sure suck at stealth," she jibed, making the stares morph into confused looks. "I mean, what was that loud bang you made before you rang the doorbell? Way to announce your presence, sis."

"What loud bang?" Jade asked. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"No, seriously," Roy said, beginning to look concerned. "What loud bang? We just walked up and rang the doorbell. It wasn't us."

"Then who…?"

_Ka-thump._

"Mom…" Artemis called carefully, instantly back on alert. She lifted her crossbow that had gone slack in her grip, aiming it at where the noise seemed to be coming from. Roy and Jade armed themselves with their weapons of choice as well, pulling them seemingly out of nowhere from their civilian clothes. Paula wheeled out of the kitchen holding a wicked looking kitchen knife. "Tell me that was you."

_Thud._

This time it came from the other side of the safe house. The thump sounded soft; as if someone was completely blind of the small building and just kept walking head first into the side of it. Clearly, it wasn't Paula.

The four occupants remained silent and tensed as several more thuds and bumps echoed around the house like it was the world's heaviest rainstorm. It was coming from everywhere, but there was nothing to shoot at. And then the doorbell rang.

"Did you invite any friends?" Artemis hissed sardonically at her sister. Jade shook her head, her face a passive mask. "Who else knew you were coming? Who did you tell?"

"No one!" Jade snapped back, sounding insulted.

"Then how did you know we were here?"

"Harper asked a friend," Jade replied as the doorbell rang again. "Maybe your Atlantean told?"

Artemis scoffed in disbelief. "Kaldur? No way."

"Were you followed?" Paula asked, looking just about ready to impale someone with her kitchen knife. Whoever, or whatever, was outside continued to throw themselves at the brick walls, while the person at the door held down the doorbell impatiently, producing a high-pitched incessant _driiiiiing_.

"No, we parked a mile away and walked," Roy replied. He had several arrows notched and aimed at the front door, making Artemis wish that she hadn't left her own compound bow upstairs. "Figured you didn't want this 'abandoned' house to appear to have visitors."

"Enough of this," Jade announced as she stalked right up to the front door and undid the locks.

"You cannot be serious," Artemis muttered under her breath. But Jade ignored her and flung the door open, blade instantly held to the throat of their uninvited guest.

"Good evening, Cheshire Cat," the man on the doorstep greeted, tipping his top hat politely. "I have come to cordially invite my Alice to tea with me."

* * *

 _Am I seriously about to get kidnapped…_ again?

Dick tensed up as he scanned their surroundings, hiding his fighting stance under the guise of fear. The boathouse was essentially two-thirds of a warehouse, the final third open over the lake. A rickety staircase lead up to a loft-like space that spanned about half the upper floor. The place was full of boats in various states of disrepair, a couple of mostly whole ones bobbing lightly where they were moored on the lake.

The only door was slammed shut behind them and locked with a heavy wooden bar. Two of the joggers stood guard in front of it as the others spread out around them. There were sixteen in all. Tough odds, even if they could fight at full strength.

And then there was Bane.

He seemed to have gotten bigger since the last time that Dick had seen him in Santa Prisca. He was six and a half foot of solid muscle wrapped in a skin-tight vest and cargo pants. The direct line of venom to his brain stuck out of the back of his skull. He grinned through the black and white Mexican wrestling mask.

"Welcome to my trap, _niños_ _."_

Beside Dick, Wally fidgeted. He was listening to the Boy Wonder and stopping himself from using his speed, but it clearly was not sitting well with him. He was still gripping Dick's wrist, but the younger teen decided not to pull away. Let Bane think whatever he wanted about them.

"Sorry to interrupt your little moment in the park," Bane said derisively. "But my employer would like to have a word with you _señor_ Wallace West. Or should I say, _Kid Flash."_

Wally didn't react in the slightest, and Dick had to admit that he was impressed by the speedster's acting skills. He wrinkled his face in confusion. "Huh?"

"Do not play dumb with me, _niño,"_ Bane warned. "It will only make this experience far more painful for you."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Wally replied. He sounded convincing, but his grip on Dick's wrist was getting tighter. "You really think that I'm Kid Flash? I wish!"

Bane raised an eyebrow, which looked quite comical with the menacing mask. He clearly was not buying the act, but he let that line of conversation drop and turned to address Dick. "You are Bruce Wayne's kid, are you not?" Bane's eyes flicked from Dick to Wally and back. "Interesting company you keep."

"He's my science tutor," Dick lied fluidly. It was easier just to say that than to try and explain how a normal kid from Central could end up friends with Gotham elite when their (known) social circles never crossed.

"You picked a bad day for a study session, _niño,"_ Bane replied. He gestured at his henchmen/joggers and they instantly closed in. Strong hands wrapped around Dick's upper arms, practically lifting him off of the floor. Wally's protective grip on his wrist was ripped free as the speedster was put through the same treatment.

Wally looked close to panicking as the pair of them were dragged away from each other. "Look, I'm not who you think I am!" he shouted in a desperate attempt to convince Bane that he was wrong. "I'm not Kid Flash! Please, let us go and tell your boss that he made a mistake!"

"My boss does not make mistakes."

"At least let Dick go!" Wally tried. If Dick had been free right then he would have run over and brained the speedster for trying to protect him like some damsel. It was better that they were taken together – Dick had plenty of experience and knew exactly what to do. They had a better chance of getting out of this if they stuck together. But Wally had to try and save him, because they were best friends and that's just what best friends did. "He's got nothing to do with anything!"

Bane nodded, and for a crazy moment, Dick honestly thought that the guy was actually going to let him go. Then:

"Kill the spare."

* * *

"I told you to stay off of my streets."

Batgirl lowered her binoculars and looked over her shoulder to find the shadow of the Dark Knight looming behind her. She rolled her eyes beneath the mask. "Technically, I'm on a rooftop," she deadpanned. "Are those off-limits too?"

" _Everything_ is off-limits," Batman replied. "Especially the rooftops."

Batgirl thought that Batman might have just made a joke, but the thought was so terrifying that she decided to let it go. Instead she turned back to watching the street below, using her vantage point to keep an eye on a suspicious group of men hanging outside of an alley over the road. "So, is this the part where you threaten me with extreme bodily harm if I don't give this up?" she asked. She sounded so confident that she almost fooled herself into believing that her knees were not knocking together in fear.

"I found you threatening a corpse," Batman pointed out matter-of-factly. "I have every right to give you a friendly warning about continuing in this line of work. Particularly as you have decided to steal my symbol in the process."

Batgirl turned slightly, mock offended, and gestured at the crudely painted bat across her chest. "This is your symbol?" she asked with exaggerated innocence. "I had no idea! I just really like bats."

Batman glared at her, a powerfully daunting look that quite possibly would have burned her to ashes, if it weren't for the fact that he was _smirking_. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but there was a slight quirk of his lip. Clearly he would never say it out loud, but Batgirl had the sneaking suspicion that he found her _amusing_. So sarcasm was how to break through the impenetrable armour – that must be why Robin had such a rep as a wise cracker.

Down below, the gang of men had moved on without causing any trouble at all, which Batgirl kind of found a little disappointing. She wanted to show Batman that she wasn't just some little girl playing dress-up. She knew how to take care of herself, and she wasn't going to be dissuaded from what she wanted to do.

And then there came a muffled explosion a few streets away. Batman immediately had a grapple to hand, his cape billowing behind him as he stalked to the edge of the roof. "You should go home," he announced, before swinging away.

Yeah. Like that was going to happen.

Batgirl backed up for a running start and launched herself onto the next rooftop. She had her climbing rope to hand to span any distances too wide for a jump, but as it turned out the streets were thin enough to allow her to simply run. She was less than a minute behind Batman as she dropped down onto the street below.

The electronics store on Fifth Avenue was being robbed. And judging by the smoke and debris from the explosion, it was being set on fire as well. Batman had already vanished inside, but Batgirl knew that she didn't have the equipment to run into a burning building without becoming a victim as well. Instead she hovered on the street, ready and waiting for when the perpetrators were flushed out of the foxhole.

It didn't take long.

A woman staggered out of the smashed store window, coughing and spluttering on the thick smoke. She was middle-aged, some of the grey in the brown hair not caused by the ash in the air, and wearing a cardigan and sensible shoes. The floppy hat and sunglasses did not go with the mature lady ensemble, leaving Batgirl looking at the woman with a slightly stunned expression. Was she a criminal or a victim?

"…Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium," the woman muttered between hacking coughs. "And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium… and gold, protactinium and indium and gallium…"

Batgirl blinked. First Edgar Allen Poe, and now the periodic table? What in the world was going on?

The woman kept staggering like a drunk, muttering the elements to the Tom Lehrer tune. Inside, the fire was getting worse and Batman didn't appear to be coming out any time soon. Soon the emergency services would show up… and Batgirl didn't know the protocol for that. Were they meant to vanish before people started asking questions? Or hang around like regular concerned citizens doing their part to help out?

Batgirl decided that it was best to focus on the here and now and worry about the approaching sirens later. She carefully approached the woman, keeping her gloved hands visible to try and not freak her out any more than the woman was scaring her. "Woah, now, ma'am," Batgirl said as calmly as possible. "How about we sit down and have a chat for a minute, eh?"

"…phosphorous and francium and fluorine and terbium," was the woman's intelligible reply. She hovered on the spot for a moment, allowing Batgirl to get close enough to lightly grip her arms. Immediately she wrenched away, a wild fist catching the teen vigilante in the jaw. "…and manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium…"

Batgirl rubbed at her jaw. It didn't really hurt all that much, but it was kind of insulting that this woman had managed to land a hit on her. She stood there, stunned, as the woman dropped to her knees and tore into the satchel slung over her shoulder. She then started pulling out random stolen electronics; a couple of cell phones; iPods, several headphones, even a laptop, announcing a different element loudly as she placed each one on the asphalt before her.

"What in the world are you doing?" Batgirl asked, completely bewildered. She knelt down before the woman. She tried to catch the woman's eyes, but the floppy brim of the hat kept Batgirl from seeing anything above her chin. Gingerly, she reached forward to touch one of the cell phones, to try and figure out why the woman felt they were so important, but a loud shout had her whipping round to face the burning building.

"Batgirl! Get down!" Batman yelled as he emerged from the flames and leapt through the broken storefront. There was a large lump of something slung over his shoulder, but Batgirl didn't pay it any attention as she tried to get the woman to move away from the building. But the damn woman wouldn't budge.

And then the building exploded. Spectacularly.

Batgirl threw herself over the woman to shield her from the blast, but her homemade costume wasn't exactly well-armoured. The bullet-proof vest that she had 'borrowed' from her father protected her back, but she could feel the heat searing through the thin fabric of her leggings and balaclava-cowl. The force wave sent the pair of them sprawling across the street. And then everything went dark.

"Batgirl? Batgirl, can you hear me?" came a gruff voice, hammering through her blessed unconsciousness. She tried to draw in a deep breath, but all she got was a lungful of smoke that made her double over coughing. Strong hands pulled her upright, pausing briefly when the dizziness threatened to make her knees buckle beneath her.

"The woman?" she asked, blinking away the haze as she tried to search for the woman that she had shielded. Her mind felt sluggish and her ears rung from the boom of the explosion.

"Not now," Batman replied shortly. He kept a hand on the small on her back to keep her steady as he stooped down to pick something up. And then he was leading Batgirl forcefully away from the scene and the approaching sirens.

As Batgirl focused on the arduous task of putting one foot in front of the other, a strange smell assaulted her senses. "Why does it smell like barbecue?"

Batman glanced down at her through the white lens of the cowl, but didn't answer. It was then that she noticed a stinging sensation on the back of her calves and her shoulder. It was _her_ that smelt like cooking meat. And oddly, it was making her hungry. _Eww._

The Bat led her down several streets, heading deeper into the Narrows. Apprehension settled into the pit of Batgirl's stomach as she realised that they were heading straight for Crime Alley. She may have been dressing up in a bat costume to play teen vigilante, but even she wasn't crazy enough to go down there. "Ummm… where are we going…?"

"The car," was the Batman's succinct response.

"Okay…" Batgirl murmured, still a little dizzy. Her burns were really starting to hurt now that she had noticed that they were there. Part of her realised that if she was about to take a ride in the Batmobile, then she may very well be visiting the actual _Batcave_ , but she was a little too distracted by the fact that the Batman was mad enough to park his car in Crime Alley. That was just asking for trouble. But apparently Batman was a typical guy, because he sounded honestly surprised by what happened next.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The Batmobile was up on bricks, the final tyre being attacked by a small boy. The kid snapped to attention at the Batman's voice; looking two parts terrified and one part smug that he had gotten so close. He put his hands up in surrender, revealing the tyre iron in his right hand.

Batman took one step towards him. The kid threw the tyre iron at the pair of them and ran.

"So what now?" Batgirl asked as she looked down at the tool that had nearly taken her head off. "Time to call the Bat-tow truck?"

* * *

Time had never moved slower for Wally West than it did in that moment.

Trapped in the iron strong grip of two of Bane's henchmen, he could do nothing but watch. He saw Dick's eyes widen as the meaning of Bane's words hit him, the younger teen glancing at Wally and trying to communicate so much in that moment. Bane's chosen assassin raised a pistol and aimed. It seemed to take forever for the guy to pull the trigger, the seconds counting down in total silence.

_BANG._

The impact made Dick spasm like a ragdoll. Wally just caught sight of a splash of crimson before his best friend was dropped, collapsing onto the concrete with a dull thud. He'd been hit point blank in the chest.

Dick was dead.

Wally sagged, defeated, in his captors' arms. He was angry beyond reason and would have torn Bane apart in milliseconds. But with a final look, Dick had asked him to be smart about things, to think through his actions. Vengeance on Dick's behalf would not save Wally, who at this point was still breathing. It was still possible that Bane and his boss didn't know for sure who Wally was; in which case he had an identity to protect.

He couldn't flying-tackle Bane into the ground and smash his face in with a barrage of super-speed punches, because that would kinda give him away. And then it wasn't that big a leap that Barry was the Flash. And then his whole family could be at risk.

He had to be smart about this.

"Sorry about your friend, _niño,"_ Bane apologised, almost sounding sincere. Wally just glared at the masked man, imagining just what he would do to rearrange Bane's face the moment that he could be Kid Flash again. "But my boss only wanted you, _señor_ West."

Wally licked his dry lips before trusting his voice enough to speak. "W-why?" he asked, unable to completely control his stutter. "Who are y-you w-working for? Wh-what does he want?"

Bane smiled conspiratorially as he stepped right into Wally's personal space. "You'll find out soon enough…" The huge man stilled, and then glanced down at Dick's corpse. He cocked his head in surprise as he nudged the boy's arm with his booted foot. " _Madre de Dios_ …"

"Leave him alone!" Wally shouted.

Bane ignore him as he knelt down beside Dick and unceremoniously rolled him over so that he was lying on his back. A pained gasp escaped the Boy Wonder's lips. Blood soaked the front of his once green hoodie, but somehow, impossibly, Dick was still breathing. Bane poked the ragged hole with morbid curiosity. "Well aren't you as _fuerte_ as _la_ _cucaracha_?"

Dick groaned in reply.

"Dick…?" Wally muttered in disbelief. He had no idea how it was possible, but he wasn't about to question the miracle that he had just been handed. His best friend was still alive… somehow… And it changed _everything._

Bane had already proven that he was more than willing to kill Dick, meaning that the next bullet may be in the head rather than the chest. He had already witnessed Dick's death once in the last ten minutes. He wasn't over-eager to watch it happened again.

Compromising his civilian ID seemed like the lesser of two evils.

Using the hold on his arms to his advantage, Wally levered himself up and delivered a double drop-kick to Bane's face. With his Chucky T's firmly smashed against the masked man's nose, he pushed backwards and overbalanced the joggers holding him. To save themselves from falling flat on their asses they let go of his arms, giving the speedster room to move.

The moment that his feet touched the ground he was running.

"Break his legs!" Bane ordered, though his words sounded disgustingly wet and muffled as his newly broken nose bled under the wrestling mask. The joggers seemed to get the gist regardless as they immediately started targeting his shins in an attempt to bring him down.

Wally sped around in a circuit, either punching or disarming each henchman he met en route in order to daze them long enough to delay them. And then he was by Dick's side, gingerly scooping up the semi-conscious Boy Wonder as slowly as he dared while Bane's men recovered.

And then he realised that he didn't have the time nor the dexterity to undo the door to leave that way. Which just left the lake.

Yes, Wally was just about fast enough to run on water like his uncle, but that was when he wasn't carrying anything. And he wasn't the most proficient of water runners even then. He figured that now was as good a time as any to get some practice in.

With Dick secure in his arms he took off. He didn't really know or care where he was going, so long as it was away from there and safe.

The winter wind was painfully sharp at the speed that they were going, making Wally remember why he hated running in civvies in the middle of winter. He was squinting without his goggles, leaving his legs to automatically know the way because he couldn't see a damn thing. He kept checking on the boy in his arms, concern making him fret at every tiny sound and movement he made. Dick had his head buried against Wally's shoulder to stop the cold wind tearing his face, his hand clutching the speedster's jacket for dear life.

Wally didn't slow down until he had put several miles between them and Bane. It had taken less than half a minute for him to get from the park to his parent's house on the other side of downtown Central City.

As always, the back door was left unlocked, allowing Wally to simply barrel through and deposit Dick on the couch in the front room. Taking one look at the growing bloodstain across the once-green hoodie, he sped off in search of the medkit and towels.

"Wally… where…?" Dick hissed between clenched teeth once Wally had returned to kneel beside the couch. He blinked blearily at their surroundings, his breath coming out in short, strained gasps. "Did you… did you take us… home?"

"I don't know if you've forgotten," Wally retorted, hiding his panic behind a thin veneer of sarcasm. He grabbed a towel to clean off some of the blood as he tried to get a better look at the wound. "But you were just shot. I think I can be forgiven for my wonky priorities."

"But… Walls…" Dick tried to argue, even though every word sounded like hard work. He attempted to prop himself up on his elbows, but this clearly proved to be a stupid idea. He flopped back down with a pained grunt (which was Bat-speak for 'I really should be screaming in agony right now') "They know… who you are… They'll look… _gah!"_

"Shhh!" Wally admonished. "We'll move in a minute once you stop bleeding all over my mother's couch. Now hold still!"

Reluctantly, Dick stopped trying to escape and let Wally tear a bigger hole in his hoodie and t-shirt. The speedster almost grinned when he realised why his best friend wasn't dead. Beneath his clothes was a formfitting Kevlar vest, similar to what Robin wore in his uniform. The armour had taken the brunt of the shot, but at close range the material hadn't been completely infallible. The bullet had gone through (hence why he was bleeding everywhere) but not so deep as to be fatal.

"Dick Grayson's wearing body armour now?" Wally smirked. He put some pressure on the jagged wound to slow the bleeding, eliciting a groan of pain from the younger teen. "Is Bruce as paranoid as the Bat these days?"

Dick shot Wally a half-hearted glare. "I was shot… three months… ago… and it just… saved my life. Paranoid… really?"

"Maybe you should stop getting shot at," Wally suggested. His heart was still thundering in his chest as the panic gradually abated now that he knew Dick wasn't about to imminently die. He could hear the deafening report of the gun firing over and over again in his head, his brain filled with images of the two times he had watched his friend be shot and hit the ground. Not knowing whether Dick was dead or alive… Watching him collapse… believing that he had _died…_

"Wally…?" Dick asked, dragging the speedster out of his daze. "Are you okay?"

Wally blinked, looking down at the blue eyes that were studying him with concern. He realised that he might have never seen Dick again if it wasn't for that thin layer of Kevlar, and it set off every protective big brother instinct that he had. "Dick… can you not do that to me again? Like, ever?"

They both knew that neither of them could make a promise like that. Especially not in their line of work. So Dick apologised instead. He really hadn't intended to put Wally through that, and the older boy knew it, but neither of them liked seeing the other hurt. But they couldn't change the past.

"I think… I might... need to… see Alfred…" Dick muttered as he got his first look at the wound in his chest.

Wally gave a short laugh. "Ya think?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Bane is a closet Harry Potter fan. He totally idolises Lord Voldermort and has been dying to quote his iconic line 'Kill the spare' ever since he read the fourth book. Secretly, he kinda wanted his minion to shout Avada Kedavra! As he pulled the trigger, but he figured that that would undermine the whole villain aura he was going for.


	4. Part Four

**Part Four**

Batman glared at the batmobile, wondering how in the world three of his tyres had just got jacked. The security system should have electrocuted anybody who even got within a metre of the vehicle. And yet, a young boy had somehow managed to _not_ get zapped, _and_ successfully steal and hide away his expensive custom tread tyres.

This was not the imposing impression that he was going for.

Batgirl glanced sideways at him, still unable to stand completely unaided, but coherent enough to start cracking one liners at any second. Admittedly, he had missed having Robin with him while he was down with his injury, but that did not mean that he wanted a teenage girl replacing him and his sarcasm. He was supposed to be scaring her _away_ from this life, not entertaining her with car trouble.

"So... what bat-themed item do we have to solve this little issue?" Batgirl asked. "Tell me that there's a bat-toolkit in your utility belt. Because that would be _awesome._ "

Batman ignored her, and silently began working on the problem. Batgirl was injured, and needed medical attention; that much was obvious. He was going to take her to the cave and patch him up himself, but he couldn't leave a weapon as powerful as the batmobile lying in Crime Alley when its defences were clearly working below optimum levels. He supposed that he could drop her off at home and let her father, the Commissioner, have a word with her. But that was a ever-so-slightly cruel, and he did have to admit that the girl had potential.

He activated his communicator. "Agent A?"

The butler was evidently not in his usual position while Batman was out on patrol, as it took a moment for the elder gentleman to answer, when usually it was instantaneous. _"Yes, sir?"_

"Send the batwing to my position," he ordered with less courtesy than usual, hoping to keep up appearances in front of the flagging Batgirl. He had to hold her up with an arm around her waist now as she struggled to remain upright.

" _Is there something the matter with the car, sir?"_ Alfred replied even as he complied with the request. Over the radio Batman could hear the sound of the plane's engines starting up.

Batman ignored the question, not wanting to have to explain the rather embarrassing theft. Alfred had always warned him not to park in Crime Alley; he was not looking forward to the lecture he would receive on proper common sense when he eventually got home. "I am sending Batgirl ahead to the cave while I continue patrol. She requires medical attention for several burns and a possible concussion."

There came a pause. _"Are you sure that is wise, sir?"_ the butler question. _"I expect that the young miss would be able to identify me rather easily, even with a mask."_

"She'll be sedated."

"Excuse me?!" Batgirl cried indignantly, wincing when the volume of her own voice irritated her headache. She slumped into Batman's grip with a groan, quite likely to pass out all by herself even without the assistance of sedatives.

" _There is something else, sir,"_ Alfred began, almost hesitantly. This instantly put Batman on guard. Alfred never beat around the bush when there was an issue. _"Earlier this evening, Master Robin came home with injuries of his own, sir."_

"Did something happen during training?" Batman questioned, his tone even, although someone that knew him would hear the concern and anger warring beneath his words. "Black Canary didn't report..."

" _I do not have the full story, sir,"_ Alfred interrupted, which again, was unusual. He sounded worried, and anything that could rattle the unflappable butler had to be serious. _"The young master is resting now. But I believe it is safe to assume that a bullet wound is not an injury likely to be sustained in training."_

Batman saw red. "He was _shot?" Again_ , was silently tacked on the end. Robin had not long recovered from the last attempt on his life; and now someone else was shooting at him? He knew that Robin had been wearing the armour that he had insisted upon, even in civilian ID; and that the wound cannot have been near-fatal otherwise they would not be having this discussion so long after the event. But all he could see in his mind's eye was his son lying broken in that hospital bed... "Who?"

" _I do not know, sir, but Mister West was present,"_ Alfred answered. _"I sent him off to report the day's events to the League. I assume that they will know what happened by now."_ There was a beat of silence as the butler checked something on his end. _"The batwing is arriving at your location now, sir."_

"Thank you, Agent A," Batman replied as he looked up to see the plane's ominous shadow lowering as far as it could in the cramped space. A line dropped down from the belly of the vehicle, thudding against the concrete a few feet to their right. "Take care of them both, A. I'll be home as soon as I can."

" _Of course, sir."_

"Do you really call your plane the batwing?" Batgirl asked, slurring slightly. Batman rolled his eyes beneath the cowl as he set the teen up in the harness and showed her how to work it. Once she was secure, she blinked slowly to clear some of the haze from her green eyes. "Am I really going to see the Batcave?"

Batman pressed a concealed button on his gauntlet, and the harness began to retract, carrying Batgirl slowly up towards the plane. Once she was out of sight and safely on her way to see Alfred, Batman reactivated his communicator. He didn't like not being in the know; and if the League had neglected to keep him informed of his own son's condition – heads would _roll_.

" _Batman?"_ came Superman's greeting over the slight static of the radio. _"Has something else happened?"_

"What do you mean, something _else?_ " Batman didn't like having to be caught up on a situation, especially not by the oversized boyscout; but he needed to know what was going on and apparently the Kryptonian was his only source of information. "Do you know what happened to Robin and Kid Flash?"

" _Something happened to Robin and Kid Flash?"_ Superman asked, sounding close to panicked, which was not exactly soothing Batman's growing irritation. _"Flash ran off when he got a call from Watch Tower while we were fighting, I didn't know it was about the kids."_

Well, at least Flash was aware that something had happened and was now most likely taking care of Kid Flash, but that still didn't answer his question. "What were you fighting? I didn't receive an alert."

" _Didn't get a chance to send one,"_ Superman replied. The mechanical voice of the zeta beam sounded in the background, and the connection was cut for a moment as the Kryptonian teleported somewhere else. _"Fastest responders only. There was an attack on the safe house."_

"Artemis and her mother?"

" _Relocated to the mountain for now,"_ Superman responded vaguely. _"We're still trying to figure out how they were found, and why out of everyone that could possibly want them dead, it was this guy that nearly got them."_

"Who?"

" _The Mad Hatter."_

* * *

The Mad Hatter was at her front door.

 _Seriously?_ Artemis internally ranted. _Is this for real?_

It wasn't that she underestimated the villain. She was a Gothamite after all – she knew that it was the crazies that you really had to look out for. But the Alice in Wonderland themed villain just wasn't who she was expecting. Of all the people that could have come knocking, the Hatter simply hadn't been on the list.

He was kind of ridiculous, really. He was a short man with a fixation for lurid tweed jackets that constantly wore a replica top hat of his namesake. He looked almost exactly like the original illustrations for the Lewis Carroll story; which was either a case of unfortunate genetics, or more likely, a heck of a lot of plastic surgery. No one could say that he wasn't dedicated to his chosen character.

And he didn't seem in the slightest bit concerned by the knife held to his throat.

"Come along, Alice," the Hatter beckoned to Artemis as if he honestly believed that the archer would do whatever he wanted. "You know how the White Rabbit hates it when you're late. Come, come now."

Artemis pinned him with a look of complete disbelief. "Uh... _no._ "

The Hatter sighed. "And here I was hoping that you might have learned some manners," he said forlornly, as if her attitude had truly disappointed him. He then called over is left shoulder: "Mr Lincoln!"

The front window exploded in a shower of shattered wood and glass. A dark shape barrelled through and rolled onto it's feet, revealing a tall man wearing a top hat and long coat. In each hand he brandished a gleaming butcher's cleaver. "A house divided against itself cannot stand!"

"Exactly. I couldn't have put it better myself, Mr Lincoln," the Hatter replied conversationally. And then he shouted "You heard him boys! Divide and conquer!"

The casual thumps against the walls of the safe house became frenzied crashes. Windows smashed, doors were kicked open, and suddenly they were surrounded on all sides. All the assailants were men of various ages; from barely out of high school to close to retirement. They all wore hats of some size, description or style, and they each carried a weapon of some kind. There were so many of them, it was as if they had literally come out of the woodwork.

The Lincoln impersonator went straight for Jade, spouting more phrases from the historical address as if he truly believed that he was giving the speech rather than trying to dice a ninja assassin. Jade quickly decided that Lincoln was the more immediate threat, and caught the downward swipe of a cleaver on the hilt of her knife. She then twisted Lincoln's wrist and spun, landing a powerful kick against his chest. With a blade no longer poised at his throat, the Hatter crossed the threshold and vanished into the chaos.

Artemis managed to keep an eye on him for all of three seconds before she was attacked by two men in matching fedoras. They flanked her on either side and hefted their baseball bats. "Such a dame," said one as he swung his bat at her head.

"Of all the gin joints in all the world," said the other, double-teaming her from the other side. She managed to deflect one blow with her crossbow, but the other she had to take with her forearm. With the alternative being her getting bludgeoned over the head, she figured that she could live with the bruise in the morning. She knocked both bats away from her, leaving them open for her to strike back. A leg sweep took out the first Casablanca fanatic as she simultaneously disarmed the second.

"Who are you really, and what were you before?" the one still standing said in surprise. And then his expression hardened. "Here's looking at you, kid."

"Crap," Artemis had time to mutter just as the guy launched himself at her. The momentum knocked them both to the floor, throwing her bow free from her grip. Her head and back smacked into the wooden floor, forcing all of the air out of her lungs in one fell swoop. With a frustrated grunt, she drove her knee home between his legs and flipped him up and over her head. She was back on her feet and ready to go another round when she realised that neither of the Casablanca guys were getting back up.

The one that she had downed with a leg sweep lay exactly where he had landed, his fedora knocked off and lying squashed a metre or so away from him. Blood trickled from his ear and nose, and his eyes were half open and glassy. He was still breathing, but he looked catatonic. The other hardly looked much better. Blood was smeared across his cheek from where he had wiped at his nose and he was sporting a bad case of hat-hair – but at least he was conscious.

He looked around at the continuing carnage that surrounded them. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Your a civilian," Artemis muttered, more to herself than to the Casablanca guy. He made some sort of indignant comment to that, but she ignored him as she studied the battlefield. All around them the attackers that had been subdued had their hats removed and were in various states of befuddled or unconscious. "Mind control. It's mind control through the hats."

It was fairly obvious when she remembered the Mad Hatter's M.O., but she was pretty sure that the guy usually used chemicals rather than tech. Why change it up and attack her safe house? She had never gone up against the Hatter before – they had never met as far as she knew – so why was he targeting her so specifically? And what was with the Alice thing?

One thing was for sure, there was a heck of a lot civilians in the middle of a fire fight, and it wouldn't be long before someone got seriously hurt. It was time to call for help.

* * *

"My word!" the butler exclaimed the moment that he laid eyes on the cave's intruders. He took one look at the thinly veiled expression of panic on Wally West's face and then at the boy half-conscious in his arms, and immediately led to the two teens to the small medical alcove. "This way, Mister West."

The speedster did as he was told, handling the bleeding Boy Wonder with care as he laid him down on the cot that sadly saw more use than Alfred would care to admit. He quickly had to hand any and all equipment and supplies that he would need and began to examine the wound. "What happened?" he asked calmly as he took off the temporary dressing that Wally must have applied. Beneath it blood pooled around the new crater that had been torn into the young master's chest.

Alfred hadn't even known that Dick was awake, but he wasn't overly surprised that it was him that answered with a short and to the point: "I got shot."

"Again?" Alfred replied, raising an eyebrow. He gestured for Wally to pass him the specially designed sheers for cutting through Kevlar and between the two of them they managed to divest Dick of his hoodie, shirt and life-saving vest. Alfred frowned disapprovingly. "This is starting to become an incredibly bad habit, Master Richard."

"Sorry Alfie," Dick muttered, wincing as the ruined clothes were dragged out from under him, leaving his upper body completely exposed. "I loved that hoodie..."

"I am sure that the budget can stretch to buying you a new one, sir," Alfred responded dryly. He gingerly began to inspect the area around the bullet hole that was rapidly beginning to turn a lurid shade of purple. When the young master attempted to hide his flinch at a particularly tender spot, Alfred hummed thoughtfully. "Hmmm."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Wally asked anxiously. His concerned green eyes watched the butler's ministrations with rapt attention, trying to figure out where he could help out.

"I'm fine, Wally," Dick insisted a little breathlessly.

"Again: you were just _shot,"_ Wally retorted, successfully keeping the young master distracted while Alfred injected him with a dose of strong painkillers. "I am _allowed_ to be worried. There is a bullet in your chest and you've lost a lot of blood, so my question is valid. So Alfie, what's the verdict?"

"The bullet wound itself is not what concerns me, Mister West," Alfred replied as he began the less than pleasant task of removing the twisted lump of metal. "The armour did its job well and prevented a lot of damage. It is merely a flesh wound. The severity of the surrounding bruising, however, is going to be painful for a long while. I would recommend a period of bed rest and the immediate cessation of all arduous activities, but that is like telling a dog not to bark at the postman."

"I told you I was fine," Dick grumbled, his voice beginning to slur as the drugs took effect. And then he blinked. "Wait, did you just compare me to a disobedient dog?"

Wally laughed at the mildly confused look on Dick's face, the relief of knowing for sure that the Boy Wonder was going to be absolutely fine making the light hearted laugh sound a little hysterical. Alfred forgave the speedster his outburst, assuming that whatever had occurred to result in their current states could not have been enjoyable for either of them. But that was a story for another day.

"Mister West," Alfred called the boy's attention away from the dozing young master. "I am sure that you have other matters to attend to other than keeping Master Richard company. Would your uncle not need to know what happened?"

Wally furrowed his brow in confusion, and then his eyes widened in horror. "I've got to warn him that they know!" Alfred nodded encouragingly, even though he did not understand what Wally was referring to. The speedster made to run off, and then paused and turned back. "He's really going to be okay?"

"I promise you, Mister West," Alfred smiled reassuringly. "I will take the utmost care of him."

This time, Wally did leave, a slight breeze the only lingering evidence of his presence. Alfred looked after his vanished form for a moment before turning back to the sleeping boy in his care. "It was a wise decision," he told the young master, "choosing Wallace as your best friend. A wise decision indeed."

* * *

"This is starting to get ridiculous," Artemis announced as she backed-up beside her mother's wheelchair. The stairs were behind them, preventing them from going any further, and effectively leaving them cornered. She couldn't see either Roy or Jade; not since the latter of which had been corralled into the kitchen, which just left Artemis to protect her mother.

Not that Paula overly needed protection. She had been confined to a wheelchair long enough to adapt; but Artemis just thought that meant that she knew how to live life as close to normal as she could get. She didn't realise that it also meant her Mom had adapted her fighting style as well. Then again; once a highly skilled ninja assassin – always a highly skilled ninja assassin.

The mind-controlled bad guys were still coming at them; but now that Artemis knew that they were innocent civilians, she couldn't bring herself to truly take them down. Paula seemed to be following her lead, holding back from crippling blows – which must have been hard considering her weapon of choice was a kitchen knife. Artemis could only hope that Jade was holding back as well, though she suspected that Cheshire would be on her best behaviour with Roy around.

They were fast running out of real estate as Artemis' back hit the stair rail. If push came to shove she could carry her mother up the stairs, but she highly doubted Paula would appreciate that. She was incredibly relieved when she was kept from having to make the suggestion.

A streak of red zig-zagged across the entire bottom floor of the safe house, stealing weapons straight out of the grip of the assailants. As the red blur skidded to a stop and became visible as the Flash, Superman soared in through a broken window. A half second after that, the roof exploded, announcing the arrival of Wonder Woman as well. She smashed through the ceiling and landed in the middle of the front room in a crouch, glaring menacingly at anyone who dare to meet her gaze.

The Amazonian sure knew how to make an entrance.

"It's the Mad Hatter!" Artemis called out to them, trying to explain the situation as quickly and succinctly as possible. Judging by the looks of mild confusion her announcement was greeted with, she figured that the non-Gotham natives had no idea what she was getting at. Then again, she had forgotten the Hatter's style herself. "They're being controlled through the hats – they're just civilians!"

The Leaguers seemed to understand then as they launched into battle with a lot less gusto than usual. The tide quickly turned in their favour; but the two heroes with super-strength were having to consciously hold themselves back. If they had been against real bad guys that they could beat up with little consequence, they would have won the fight before it had even started, but as it was they were forced to take their time.

At some stage Flash vanished without explanation, but by which point Superman and Wonder Woman had it totally covered. Artemis actually paused in her own fight in order to watch them; which was such a rookie move that the would point blank deny that it happened later.

But it was all the opening that the Hatter needed.

She had no idea where he had been the entirety of the invasion, but right then he appeared behind her. He grabbed her hair and yanked her backwards, making her yelp in both surprise and pain. As he pulled her back he tripped her, and then he dragged her by her blond locks down the the corridor and towards the back door. By the time that she had got her feet back under her, the Hatter was slamming through the wrecked doorway and out onto the porch.

"Let me go you freak!" Artemis grunted. Her head burned from where he was practically tearing her hair from her scalp, and that just made the archer mad. She struck out with an elbow that caught the Hatter in the ribs, finally making him release his grip. She tried to follow up with a right hook, but he was shorter than she thought and as he ducked her fist simply knocked off his hat.

The Hatter looked mortified. "Alice!" he admonished, dancing out of her reach and stooping to pick up his hat. "Is that any way to behave?"

Artemis wasn't going to dignify that with a response. From within the house she could hear her mother calling for her, which probably meant that the battle was over. In seconds she would have Superman and Wonder Woman backing her up; and the Hatter seemed to know this too. He returned his hat to perch on his head, and then bowed courteously.

"Perhaps next time, my dear."

* * *

When Barbara awoke, she found herself eating cotton. She was lying flat on her stomach like a sunbather, one arm propped under her cheek and her face half-smushed into a pillow. Gradually, so as not to aggravate her growing headache or her burns, she pushed herself upright and swung her legs over the side of the cot. And that was when she got her first good look at the Batcave.

It was impressively huge, though not as sprawlingly endless as she had imagined. She could just see the main cavern from where she was currently sitting in what had to be the medical section of the cave. A supercomputer with several monitors and an extended keyboard was set against one wall, the towering form of a T-Rex (why there was a dinosaur in the Batcave, she had _no_ idea) looming over the high-backed seat. She could just see the edge of a giant penny as well as several other souvenirs from where she was perched, reminding her of just how good the Batman really was.

Even if he did just get his tyres jacked.

She still wasn't entirely sure what had happened at the blazing electronics store; what had happened to the woman with the stolen cell phone collection? Who was the other person that she's pretty sure she saw Batman pull from the fire before the explosion? Was this connected to the jewellery store theft? But she put all those questions on the back burner for now. She was in the fricking _Batcave_ , after all.

She was pleased to see that whoever had tended her wounds had left her costume mostly intact. Her leggings were drawn up to reveal that her calves were swathed in burn ointment and gauze which she quickly tucked back down. Her top was folded neatly on the bench beside her, along with her father's borrowed body armour, leaving her in a thin vest top that didn't reveal anything other than the wound on her shoulder. She decided to forgo the heavy Kevlar and simply pulled her top back on, wincing as every movement pulled at her injuries.

Her cowl had been left in place, which she was grateful for (she guessed that the Batman of all people would understand her want for anonymity), meaning that technically, she was still Batgirl.

It was then that she realised that she wasn't alone.

Lying on the cot beside her was a boy that was about her age, maybe a tad younger, with scruffy black hair and his face mostly concealed behind a domino mask. Although this was the only part of his costume that he was wearing, it didn't take a genius to figure out that this was Robin. He wore nothing else expect a pair of jeans, his bare chest wrapped tight in white bandages. He had an IV attached to his arm, so Batgirl figured that he probably wouldn't be waking up for a while, meaning that she could take a closer look.

She didn't take his mask off – she was pretty sure that was part of Vigilantism 101, but it was sorely tempting. He looked kind of familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen him before. She couldn't help but notice that he was rather hot in his shirtless state, with his lean, well-toned muscles and pale skin tone… She was incredibly glad for the cowl that hid her blush as she had to force herself look away.

She had no idea how long she had been out for, and being in a cave didn't exactly help her tell the time, so Batgirl decided to get up and explore. The rest of her gear had been carefully piled near the door, and she rummaged through it until she found her cell phone. She was stunned to find that it was nearly 4am (she had been out for over four hours!). She was glad that she had told her dad that she was staying at a friends or he'd be worried sick by now.

Leaving her stuff behind, she crept out into the main part of the cave. The sudden change in temperature between the two spaces had her shivering, but she ignored the discomfort in favour of some good old fashioned snooping.

She figured that Batman would probably flail her alive if she even attempted to look at the computer, so despite how much she wanted to play with it, she purposely steered herself in the opposite direction. This was probably some sort of test in trust, and as she wanted to be in Batman's good book she would have to behave. Instead she headed towards a display of weapons and tools, and was immediately hit with equipment envy.

They had every toy that she could possibly imagine (and quite a few that she couldn't), from batarangs (of every conceivable variety) and grapple guns that put her climbing gear to shame; to high tech tasers (that could probably take down a giant) and tablet computers that she really, _really_ wanted to play with.

Attached at the bottom of the rack were several yellow utility belts that came in two distinct styles, clearly for either Batman or Robin. She wondered how they could possibly fit all of their gear into what seemed to be impossibly small pockets. Perhaps it was like that British TV show with the telephone box that was bigger on the inside…? Her hand automatically reached towards the enticing conundrum before her. A quick peak couldn't hurt… right?

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," a voice announced ominously from behind her. Instantly, Batgirl spun around and dropped into a ready position, but found that there was nothing to attack other than a very tired looking Boy Wonder. He gestured at the utility belts. "There's a defensive mechanism built in to them. If you're not a recognised user you get a nasty electric shock. Makes your hair stand on end for weeks."

"Speaking from experience, I assume?" Batgirl asked with a smirk.

Robin grinned. "It's part of my job description as Batman's partner. Detective work. Beating up Bad Guys. And playing guinea pig for all his new gadgets," he deadpanned, making Batgirl smile and relax her stance. She knew that she was in the presence of the _Robin_ , protégé of the _Batman_ and perfectly capable of kicking her ass into next week, but there was something about him that made her feel comfortable around him. "So, you're trying out for the position then?"

"I'm thinking about it," Batgirl replied. Honestly, when she had started the gig she had wanted to work solo (despite the fact that she had painted a bat on her chest, automatically affiliating her with Batman). But now she was beginning to realise just how woefully unprepared she was; and on her budget (which was non-existent outside of her meagre allowance) she wasn't exactly able to buy herself an arsenal like these guys had. "What's the pay like? And do we get dental?"

Robin laughed softly, though it was cut short by a sharp intake of breath. He placed his hand on his bandaged chest, the first signs of red starting to seep through the white. "No pay, I'm afraid," he winced. "But we do have great health insurance."

"I can see that," Batgirl retorted. Part of her wanted to rush to the younger teen's side and make sure that he was okay, but she doubted that he would appreciate that. Stoicism was probably a required character trait or something. "What happened to you anyway?"

"I got shot."

"That was smart," Batgirl jibed lightly. "Don't they teach you how to avoid that in the training seminar?"

"I think I must have missed that lesson," Robin countered with a smirk. He looked her over appraisingly, quirking one eyebrow beneath his domino mask. "Nice outfit, by the way. Did you paint the bat on yourself? It's a little crooked."

"It's a work in progress," she defended, though her hand rose by itself to cover the slightly dodgy wing. She gestured at his mostly missing attire, trying not to look too closely at his half-nakedness for fear of embarrassing herself. "What about you? I see the Robin suit's changed since your last outing."

Robin smiled brightly and spread his arms, making his muscles ripple in a way that Batgirl totally did not notice, nor pay rapt attention to. "I'm trying a new look that shows off my abs. What do you think?"

Batgirl couldn't answer right away, which probably gave away the truthful answer that she really wanted to give; but when she did she managed to keep her voice completely level and unimpressed. "I'm underwhelmed."

For some reason, this response made Robin laugh. "And here I thought you were overwhelmed," he grinned slyly. "Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

"Probably because that isn't a word," Batgirl replied with an eye roll, deciding to ignore the part where he had picked up on her _slight_ attraction to him. There was absolutely no way that she was crushing on the Boy Wonder, or Teen Wonder as she guessed she should say. She was just a little flustered by her first trip to the Batcave; that was all. _Right…?_ She looked up to find that Robin was three shades paler than he had been two minutes ago and he was leaning heavily against a pillar. "Shouldn't you be lying down?"

"Probably," Robin shrugged, which was an idiotic thing to do as he immediately flinched in pain. "Okay, yeah. _Definitely_ need to be horizontal right now."

"Boys," Batgirl huffed under her breath as she came to the younger teen's side and silently offered her assistance. Robin gratefully used her as a human crutch as they headed back to the room where they had started. Batgirl helped him back onto his cot and glared disapprovingly at the growing bloodstain on the once pristine bandage. Obviously, Robin wasn't meant to have gotten up in the first place, but she doubted telling him that would get her any response at all. "How do I call the doctor that patched you up? I think you've torn your stitches."

Robin wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And here I was hoping that _you_ would play nursemaid."

Batgirl rolled her eyes as she reached down to undo the bandages and fix him up herself.

 _Yeah Babs,_ she thought to herself, _you're totally not crushing on the Teen Wonder._ At all.


	5. Part Five

**Part Five**

"What the hell was that?"

Jervis Tetch a.k.a. The Mad Hatter, was not in the mood for a lecture. He had just missed his chance to bring his Alice to tea, and a whole slew of his minions had been liberated by the Super-Jerk and Wonder Whore. He didn't want to listen to the Doc going on and on about how he had 'ruined the plan' or whatever. So he ignored the angry man glaring at him and threw himself on the couch.

But the Doc didn't seem to get the message. For a psychiatrist he sure was terrible at reading people. "What were you _thinking_ , Tetch?" he demanded from where he sat behind his desk, a wall of diplomas and certificates displayed proudly behind him. The glare of the lamp reflected in his round spectacles and made his bald head shine like the sun. "I told you to wait! You have got to stop pulling these stupid stunts!"

"What stupid stunts?" Tetch asked innocently, even though he new exactly what it was that he had done to incur the Doc's ire. At this point he was simply finding mild entertainment from watching the throbbing vein on the Doc's temple rapidly pulsate. "I was only inviting a guest to my tea party."

"You and your stupid tea parties!" the Doc snapped, making Tetch glare at him in shock. How dare he belittle his tea parties? They were a cultural exchange of cakes and riddles; not something to be sniffed at by a psychiatrist that couldn't even read people properly. "Are you trying to get us caught before we've even gotten started? The odd visits into Gotham to get supplies I could forgive, but _storming a League safe house?_ Are you _mad?"_

Tetch raised an eyebrow. "I think the clue is in the name there. They don't call me the _Sane_ Hatter, after all."

The Doc just stared at him, the vein turning purple as it got delightfully close to bursting. Tetch sighed. "I admit, I may have jumped the gun a little bit," he lamented. "But it was part of the deal, Doc. I help you with your plans for world domination or some such drivel, and you help me get my Alice. _I'm_ still waiting, Doc."

"And now you'll have to wait a bit longer because you cannot follow simple instructions," the Doc retorted.

"But I'm lonely!" Tetch whined.

"Then go play with your toys!" the Doc yelled right back.

Tetch flomped back against the armrest, knocking his top hat a little off-kilter as he sulked. "They're not the same as Alice. They're not right."

"You wanted young, skinny blondes, and that's what I got you," the Doc said impatiently. He steepled his fingers in front of his nose and looked up at the ceiling as if he were praying for sanity. "I damn near blew my cover trying to keep you happy, and now you tell me that I shouldn't have even bothered. I take it that you don't want the one that I picked up for you today then."

"I want _my_ Alice," Tetch pouted. "And I want her _now."_

"Well that's not going to happen, is it?" The last of the Doc's waning patience vanished as he slammed his hands on the desk and pushed himself to his feet. He began to pace the length of his desk, his hands clasped behind his back in his classic 'evil plotting' mode. Tetch snorted at the sight. Some villains were just so cliché. "Now that the League knows that the safe house is compromised, they'll find a better stronghold to stash her in."

"The deal was that I get my Alice," Tetch reiterated, making sure that the Doc got the point of this conversation. "Unless you're backing out, that is. I'd love to see you try and pull this off without my tech. An army of civilians storming the Hall of Justice? Good luck 'sweet-talking' them all on your own. No Alice. No tech. No deal."

"Jervis," the Doc paused in his pacing, looking a little panicked at the prospect of losing his co-operation. Tetch smirked, knowing just how much power he had over the psychiatrist and how he practically controlled the whole situation. His smugness made the Doc growl bitterly. "I will get you the damn archer, but we'll have to be smart about it. I'll talk to our partner, see if he can't figure something out."

"The muscle head? _Pfft,"_ Tetch dismissed. "I want my Alice in one piece, thank you very much."

"And you'll get her!" the Doc snapped, before trying to physically rein in his temper. "Now, don't you have some work you should be doing?"

Tetch frowned. "But I'm tired. Storming League safe houses is _exhausting._ Besides, didn't you say that you had found me someone new to play with?"

"You mean another poor girl that I'm risking everything to supply for you but isn't keeping you satisfied anyway?" the Doc retorted. Tetch just nodded. "She's in the back room. Try not to leave so many bruises this time. They're harder to explain."

Tetch grinned gleefully. "No promises."

* * *

_Recognised: Flash 04. Kid Flash B03._

The moment that the light faded, Barry grabbed Wally's shoulders, making sure that the younger speedster was listening. "You will stay here until I say otherwise, clear?" he said insistently, worry visibly etched in his features even through the red cowl. Wally nodded; his uncle was clearly freaked out enough without him trying to argue his way out of house arrest. Besides, there were far more important things than his freedom right now. He didn't even make a sarcastic comment about the fact that Barry had zeta'd to the cave with him just to make sure that nothing happened between Central and the Cave.

"I'll be fine, Uncle Barry," the redhead said as reassuringly as he could; which probably wasn't very much considering that he was shaking a little. "I'll stay put."

"Good," Barry said shortly, giving Wally's shoulders a squeeze as if to confirm that his nephew was still there and hadn't been kidnapped. "I'm gonna go get your Mom and Dad and your Aunt Iris some place safe just in case."

Wally looked down at the floor. His Mom was going to be mad at him – she had a big thing at work that she was looking forward to, and now she was going to have to skip it while she hid somewhere for who knew how long. All because he had gotten caught and well and truly blown his civilian ID.

Barry lifted his head up by the chin so that they were eye-to-eye again. "You did the right thing, kid."

"Yeah..." Wally muttered dejectedly. He knew that the alternative of letting Dick die was _so_ much worse, but that didn't mean that he was glad with the way that things had gone. He took a deep breath and tried to force one of his usual smiles. "You should go."

"Right," Barry agreed. He stepped back up to the zeta beam as Wally took a few more steps away, the pair of them sharing one last look before the elder speedster returned to Central City.

"What was that about?" a familiar voice asked from behind him, making Wally spin around in surprise.

"Artemis?!" he cried, his grin becoming genuine as he drank in the sight of his awesome girlfriend. She was wearing civvies with her long hair tied back and her quiver thrown over her shoulder. Smudges of dirt and dried blood stained her clothes as if she had just walked away from a fire fight, making Wally's eyes widen in concern. "What happened? What are you doing here?"

"Oh my God Wally!" she yelped, totally ignoring his questions as she came up to him and stared at his chest. "What the hell happened to you? Are you alright?!"

It was then that he realised that he hadn't changed since he had carried Dick to Gotham. The Boy Wonder's blood covered the front of his shirt and jacket; and as he glanced down to see what Artemis was staring at he realised that it was all over his hands as well. He looked like an extra from a zombie movie. "It's not mine," he quickly explained.

"Then whose...?"

"Rob's," Wally answered, which unsurprisingly did nothing to calm Artemis down. She saw Dick as her honorary little brother, especially after all they had been through together in Colorado. "Bane tried to kidnap me after training earlier. Rob got shot."

"Again?" Artemis asked incredulously. "Is he okay?"

Wally nodded. "He was wearing a vest, thankfully. But for a moment there... I thought..." he trailed off, not able to say out loud what he had been so sure of for a scary few minutes.

"Hey, it's okay," Artemis stopped him, placing her hands on his chest just above where the bloodstain ended. It felt so good, just being around her, and Wally felt his anxiety melt away a little just at her touch. "We both know Rob's as tough as nails. He'll be fine."

"I guess," Wally sighed. He reached out to wipe a smear of dirt off of her cheek. "What happened to you?"

Artemis shrugged. "There was an attack on the safe house. Don't worry, we're all fine. Superman just said that I should stay here for a while until they figure something else out."

"Where's your Mom?"

"She said that she would be safer hiding herself," Artemis said with a small laugh. "She was less than impressed that it was _him_ of all people who could find us in League protection. Jade and Roy are finding her some place to stay."

Wally cocked his head to one side. "Who 'he'? Who found you?"

A strange look crossed his girlfriend's face, one that he couldn't decipher. "It doesn't matter," she tried to deflect, but Wally just raised an eyebrow. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Wally tried to meet her eyes for a moment, but she point blank refused to co-operate, so he begrudgingly let it go. He looked down at the way that they were standing to avoid covering each other in dirt and blood, and smirked. "I think we should get cleaned up."

"Yeah, that's probably best." Artemis agreed. Together they walked towards the sleeping quarters where they both had rooms even though neither of them usually lived there. But as they were halfway down the corridor the archer slowed to a stop. "Wally... I... I don't want to be alone tonight."

Wally smiled warmly. "You're room or mine?"

* * *

When Dick woke up, he realised just how incredibly hard it was to breathe. His chest felt so tight that he thought for a moment that he was tied up; but then he recognised the chittering of bats and knew that he was home. The events of the day before came back to him through the haze of the painkillers in his system, almost making him want to just roll over and go back to sleep.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he heard a female voice shout. The tone was distinctively Barbara Gordon, reminding Dick that they had company. (Company that he may or may not have flirted with ever-so-slightly...) He just really hoped that Batgirl never met Zatanna. Because that could be awkward. Very Awkward.

With a suppressed groan, he dragged himself upright and unhooked the IV from his arm. His domino mask was still in place from the night before; which was probably Alfred's doing before Batgirl had come to the cave. Once he was back on his feet and relatively stable, he was pleased to see that someone (again, most likely Alfred) had put out a clean shirt for him, meaning that he wouldn't be the Shirtless Wonder again. _Oh God... What was I thinking...?_

By the time that he had argued his way into the t-shirt and thrown on his black jacket, the conversation out in the cave had moved onto quieter pastures. It was a little jarring to walk into the space that had purely been his and Bruce's and see Batgirl standing there like she totally belonged. He would _never_ say it out loud; but he felt a twinge of pain in his chest that had nothing to do with the bullet wound and everything to do with jealousy at the sight. He had to look away to stop himself from doing something stupid, which was when he saw the batmobile.

"Uh, what happened to the car?" he asked, making the two Bats snap their attention to him. In the centre pad where the car was usually parked, the batmobile was up on jacks with three of its tyres missing. Several of the side panels had been removed as well, revealing the inner workings of the machine, including the complicated mesh of wires that made up the electrical security measure. Parts of it were sparking, as if the system had been overloaded – which wasn't even possible.

Batman scowled like the car was just another problem on a rapidly growing list of issues, so Batgirl answered. "A kid jacked the tyres in Crime Alley."

Robin snorted. "Agent A keeps telling you not to park there."

That earned him a growl from the Dark Knight, which probably meant that Alfred had already managed to get his lecture in that morning. Dick was so going to tease Bruce about this for months.

"So what do you expect me to do now?" Batgirl asked, bringing the conversation back to whatever the two of them had been talking about before. Robin raised an eyebrow as he was completely ignored by the both of them, but he decided to remain quiet as he leaned against a workbench and watched the exchange. "You can't make me drop this; and there is _no way_ that I'm giving up the cape!"

"You are staying away from this investigation, and that is _final."_ Batman insisted, stressing the last word in such a way that the conversation should have instantly ended.

But Batgirl was nothing if not persistent. "It's _my_ investigation. _I_ found the guy at the jewellery store, and you _know_ that the fire at the electronics store is connected. Let me see if I can connect the perps, and figure out who is behind this."

"I _know_ who is behind it," Batman answered. Robin had no idea what either of them were talking about, but he wasn't about to draw attention to that fact. It was irritating enough that Batgirl knew more than he did without having to admit that he was out of the loop. _He_ was Batman's partner, after all, not _her._

Batgirl blinked, her balaclava-cowl scrunching up as her face morphed into a completely befuddled expression. "You do? Who?"

"This is a League investigation now," Batman skilfully avoided answering, confusing Robin even more. What could have happened that would require the whole League looking into it? This was a Gotham issue, otherwise Batgirl wouldn't know about it. Batman didn't _share_ Gotham issues. It was a territory thing. "And you will stay out of it. Understand?"

Batgirl looked as if she might argue some more, but the batglare was finally beginning to have some effect. She let the subject drop. "So what do you expect me to do? You still can't make me quit being Batgirl. Even if I did steal your name and logo."

Batman stared at her for a long moment, sizing her up. She must have done something to impress the Bat, because he didn't immediately disagree with her and order her to burn the costume. And then he did something that actually made Robin choke in surprise.

"I want you to find out who the boy was."

 _Batman was giving her a mission?!_ Thankfully neither of them seemed to notice Robin's minor spaz attack at that revelation; this whole situation was surreal enough as it was. He didn't need them being concerned about his mental health as well.

"The boy who jacked your tyres?" Batgirl confirmed, her tone somewhere between being pissed off that he was distracting her, and pleased that he wasn't outright disowning her. "Why?"

Batman answered with a scowl, which Batgirl seemed to understand meant that she really needed to stop questioning him. "You will stay in the cave for today," he said instead, and then gestured to the smaller cavern to the right of the medical room. "There are showers and a changing room down there, and then you can use the computer if you like."

Batgirl nodded and then vanished down the passageway, leaving the cave the way it was meant to be. Just Batman and Robin.

"You know that she's a really good hacker, right?" Robin pointed out the moment that she was out of earshot. "She could break into all of the files within an hour."

"I'm trusting her not to," Batman replied, and if Robin hadn't have already reached his quota on weirdness that morning, he quite possibly would have fainted from shock at that statement. _This is like an episode of the Twilight Zone._ "But we have bigger issues. How are you feeling?"

"Uh, fine," Robin said vaguely, not wanting to admit weakness in the wake of everything that was happening. Batman gave him that look that said that he wasn't buying it for a second, so Robin gave a half-shrug that didn't make him wince too obviously. "It's just a bruise, the armour did it's job. Did Wally tell you what happened?"

Batman shook his head. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but Flash said that Bane was involved. Is that true?"

"Yeah, he had set up an ambush in Central City Park," Robin admitted begrudgingly. "I didn't see it in time. He was after Wally – his civilian ID is definitely burned."

"And yours?"

"I didn't do anything that could give me away," Robin replied. "And Bane decided to shoot me rather than take me, which kinda implies that he didn't think that I was anyone important. He said that his boss was only after Kid Flash."

Batman looked thoughtful for a moment. "And there were no clues as to who he was working for or why?" Robin shook his head. "How is this connected to the Hatter? What are they after?"

"The Hatter? As in the Mad Hatter?" Robin interrupted, feeling like he was playing catch up and _hating it_. How could so much have happened in such a short space of time? He was sure that yesterday all that he had to worry about was how he was going to survive his first training session at the cave with Zatanna. What else had he missed? "What's he got to do with anything? I thought he was in Arkham still."

"He escaped three months ago and dropped off the radar," Batman explained offhandedly.

"Oh. Forgot that place has a revolving door installed for the criminally insane," Robin muttered sarcastically. "Why haven't we been hunting him?"

"Gordon's been trying to track him down," Batman turned to the computer and brought up some case files on the holographic display. Robin vaguely recognised them from his midnight perusals of the computer. "Hatter was completely silent until a few weeks ago when someone wearing one of his hats tried to break into the Gotham Planetarium. The victim died before he could be questioned, and we have no clue as to what the Hatter was after."

"I remember the case," Robin stepped up to the holo-screen and began skim reading the notes. "But you didn't have this marked as a priority. So what's changed?"

"There was an attack on the safe house last night," Batman replied. "The Hatter led a group of mind-controlled victims against..."

"Wait, the safe house?" Robin interrupted. "As in Artemis' safe house? Is she okay?"

"She is staying at the mountain for the moment," Batman said. "There are two Leaguers present at all times, they're safe."

"Yeah, that's what we thought about the _safe_ house," Robin pointed out. "How did someone even find them? And why the Mad Hatter? It doesn't make any sense."

Batman nodded, clearly as perplexed as Robin. Which was not comforting. "There will be a meeting at the mountain for a debrief of the night's events in thirty minutes. You might want to get cleaned up."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

* * *

"For those of you who do not know, last night the safe house Artemis and her mother had been staying at was attacked," Superman announced to the gathered Leaguers and team members before him. They were in the main cavern of Mt. Justice, standing around the centre ring where Batman and Superman stood in front of several holo-screens. "The assault was carried out by a group of armed mind-controlled civilians, being led by the Mad Hatter."

"Uh, who?" Wally had to ask, even though he hated sounding clueless. He stood protectively close to Artemis, who was trying very hard not to look shaken. Wally had never seen her like this, and last night she had done nothing other than hold him close; true to her word that she didn't want to talk about it. There was something about this guy that had seriously rattled her, but he didn't know what. "I've never even heard of him."

Artemis shifted beside him. "He's a Gotham villain. Small time. I'm not surprised that you don't know him. _I_ forgot who he was. And then I remembered what he's known for."

Wally furrowed his brow in confusion as Batman took up the explanation. "The Mad Hatter, a.k.a. Jervis Tetch, is a serial rapist and human trafficker. Most of his victims are under age, and they are always blonde and female."

 _Oh._ Wally was beginning to see the issue.

"He calls them 'Alice'," Artemis muttered quietly. As if being found and attacked in a place that she believed to be safe wasn't enough, it was apparent that his girlfriend had also made the 'Alice' connection. The Hatter was trying to kidnap her to make her his... plaything. Wally shuddered and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, vowing silently to _never_ let that happen.

Batman nodded. "He uses tech to control his victims, usually in the form of hats to conceal the devices. But he has never tried to pull a stunt this big before."

"So, is this the person who targeted Artemis last time?" M'gann asked. She was standing between Zatanna and Kaldur in her civilian outfit and green skin, with Connor on the Atlantean's left. This put three people between Zee and Robin, who was perched a safe distance away; his sunglasses firmly in place. Wally was just glad to see him upright and no longer bleeding everywhere to comment on the obvious avoidance.

Superman shrugged. "We don't know," he said in answer to M'gann's question. "The attack on the safe house didn't seem overly well planned; and the initial kidnapping attempt doesn't fit the Hatter's M.O."

"And Sportsmaster said that I was being taken for 're-education'," Artemis added. "Not... you know."

"But that could have just been what he was told to guarantee his co-operation," Kaldur pointed out. "Martian Manhunter has confirmed that he did not know who he was working for. Perhaps he would not have agreed had he known that he was handing you over to the Mad Hatter."

"I doubt it," Artemis mumbled.

"We can't rule out Hatter as a suspect in the original kidnapping," Batman tactfully steered the conversation away Sportsmaster. "But it doesn't explain why Kid Flash was targeted at the same time."

"Wait, Kid was targeted too?" Connor asked. Reluctantly, Wally recounted what had happened in the park with Bane again, though he was getting tired of repeating himself. Zatanna's eyes widened when he got to the part where Robin was shot. She tried to give him a look that was one-part guilt and two-parts worry, but the Boy Wonder wouldn't meet her eyes. In fact, he was pointedly ignoring everyone who was looking at him in shock and concern. Wally rolled his eyes at him. _Typical Dick._

"Why would Bane target Wally?" Black Canary asked.

"He said that his boss knew that I was Kid Flash," Wally explained. "But he didn't say anything else about him. No clues about who he was working for."

Wonder Woman turned to face Batman. "Would Bane and Hatter ever usually work together?"

"No," he replied. Wally was inclined to agree – he couldn't imagine the Mexican drug lord and an Alice in Wonderland character playing well together. He got an image in his head of the two of them sitting down to tea, but it was so wrong that he actually had to shake his head to get rid of the thought. "At least, not without a third party," Batman amended. "The two attacks were simultaneous, implying that they were coordinated. I doubt that Hatter is in charge, but he could be working for someone else."

"In that case, there's another player that we haven't identified yet involved," Superman surmised.

"So we _still_ don't know who's behind this?" Connor said impatiently.

Batman levelled a glare at the half-Kryptonian clone. "No, we don't. But at least we now have fresh leads to follow." He turned his attention back to the group at large. "There has been activity in Gotham that I believe is Hatter-related. I'll follow up on that."

"I'll work with Flash to find out what happened with Bane in Central," Superman offered. The Scarlet Speedster was absent from the meeting as he was still settling their family in hiding, but Wally was pretty sure that Uncle Barry would be fine with accepting Superman's help.

"What about the team?" Black Canary asked. Wally figured that he and Artemis wouldn't be leaving the Cave for the foreseeable future; but if they didn't even know how his identity was discovered, how did they know that the rest of the team's were safe?

Batman considered the issue for a moment. "It would be too suspicious for them all to disappear at the same time; particularly with three of them all attending the same school. For now we assume that only Artemis and Kid Flash's IDs have been compromised. The rest of you will continue as normal; but you are to be extra vigilant. The first sign of trouble you call the League. Understood?"

"Yes sir," M'gann and Zatanna chorused, while Connor just nodded. Robin had apparently already had the lecture as he just stayed silent. Kaldur nodded as well, even though he didn't really have a civilian ID to protect. He didn't go to school on the surface world like the others, but he still understood the importance of being careful.

Batman paused a moment to see if anyone else had anything to add. "Dismissed."

* * *

"Tetch stormed the safe house, just as you predicted, _mi_ _señoría."_

Bane stepped into the only light of the darknened room and waited patiently. He stood on the large white mat in the middle of the dojo, moonlight streaming through small slatted windows just below the high ceiling. A raised deck ran the entire perimeter of the centre ring. The whole space smelt like a pleasant mix of bamboo and incense, reminding him of some place that he couldn't quite recall. Before him, ensared almost entirely in shadows, was a figure sitting cross-legged on a large flat pillow.

"They continue to work on their plans?" the figure asked, her voice sounding rich and exotic.

Bane nodded. "S _í, mi señoría."_

"Fools," the figure said derisively. "As if they could pull it off. Petty vengeance plots never work." Bane said nothing; not wanting to draw attention to any of his own attempts at retribution on the Justice League. "Has Tetch completed the device yet?"

"He works slowly," Bane growled in irritation. He despised having to work with the mad man and the Doctor, but he had come to respect his new patron. He would do whatever she asked, for she had proven herself his better. He understood how power and skill worked. Now he knew his place in the heirachy, and he would work to return to his proper rank. "Tetch keeps ignoring his job in favour of his _distractions."_ Bane spat the last word in disgust. "He refuses to focus until he gets the archer."

"Keep Tetch on task," the figure ordered. Her voice softened almost imperceptibly. "Find a way to get him Artemis if it will make him work faster. But only as a last resort. I do not paticularly want her defiled by that filfth."

" _Sí, mi señoría."_

The figure shifted slightly in her shadows, and although Bane couldn't see her expression, he could feel her excitement. "What of the boy?"

"I did as you asked, _mi señoría,"_ Bane bowed his head. "He was wearing a vest as you suspected. It was supposed to appear as a Wayne Tech prototype, but it looked very much like armour to me."

The moonlight reflected in the figure's grin. "Excellent."

" _Lo siento, mi señoría,"_ Bane said carefully. "But are you sure that he is the one you want?"

"Oh yes," the figure answered. "Robin will do perfectly."


	6. Part Six

**Part Six**

The noise was driving M'gann mad.

It was Monday morning, first period English Lit, but they had a substitute teacher since Mr Lemming had called in sick about a week ago. Mr Forder, the sub that they had today, was a young man with long curly blonde hair - like that guy from Nickleback; even complete with matching goatee. He looked as if he had only just finished college and was already regretting his choice of employment. M'gann might have been sympathetic if he had at least _attempted_ to control the classroom of teenagers. As it was, she couldn't muster anything beyond: _ow._

Everyone was talking; catching up on what happened at the weekend, what their plans for the Christmas break were and just gossip in general. And then there was Mr Forder, half-heartedly trying to tell the class about Edgar Allen Poe and his poem about a Raven. M'gann might have been able to handle it, if it weren't for the fact that her telepathy was a little wonky recently.

The thoughts of every person in Happy Harbour High buzzed in the back of her mind like a badly tuned radio. Every now and then a clear thought would burst through as if she had just found a good station, before devolving back into white noise again. Understandably, this was making her a little bit irritable and crabby. Connor would glare at her every time that she picked up on something that she shouldn't, as if she were abusing her powers (which she would never do... again) and she was getting a little bit tired of it all. A little bit tired of _him._

M'gann sighed and dropped her head onto her folded arms on top of the desk. She and Connor needed to talk – she was worried about her powers going haywire, particularly at school where the buzzing always tended to be worse. But with so much going on with the team and the bad guys hunting them down... Her headaches just didn't seem that important.

"Are you okay?" Zatanna whispered from the next seat over, gently nudging M'gann's arm.

Reluctantly, M'gann sat back up and tried to look happy and perky like her usual self. She tapped the side of head, indicating that she was going to use the psychic link and Zee nodded her consent. _'I'm fine,'_ the Martian answered with a small smile. _'Just a little tired. Didn't sleep well last night.'_

 _'Me neither,'_ Zatanna agreed _'Someone attempting to kidnap Wally and Artemis at the same time? That's scary enough. But that stuff about the Mad Hatter and what he would have done to Arty... and Robin being shot... It makes my problems look trivial. I feel like an idiot for blowing up at the cave on Saturday.'_

M'gann blinked. She had forgotten all about their training session – but she also figured that Zatanna didn't want her insecurities confirmed. _'What was that about? Why did you turn Robin into a rabbit?'_

Zee shrugged, which probably would have looked weird if anyone was paying the slightest bit of attention to them; but Mr Forder was reciting the poem to a classroom of teenagers more interested in who-kissed-who under the bleachers than The Raven. _'I guess I overreacted a little. We were having issues, what with him completely ignoring me, and Dr Grantes said that I should make a statement so that Robin would pay attention to me. At the time, turning him into a rabbit seemed like a good statement.'_

 _'He was adorable,'_ M'gann smiled at the image of the fluffy black bunny. _'Wait, Who's Dr Grantes?'_

Zee shifted in embarrassment. _'He's the school counsellor. I've been going to see him since I came back from Thanagar. I just needed someone to talk to. Not that I can't talk to you guys!'_ she hurriedly added. _'I just wanted to talk to someone outside of the Life, you know?'_

 _'I get it,'_ M'gann replied. _'Is he helping?'_

 _'Yeah,'_ Zee nodded. _'I've got another appointment to see him after lunch.'_

"Did you hear about Lacey Collins?" Georgie Lewis, a popular girl a few rows back, asked loudly of her friends. M'gann didn't know why she stopped to listen, she never usually paid attention to gossip. But Georgie was on her cheerleading squad and tended to laugh when M'gann wasn't up to speed, so the Martian leaned back in her seat to eavesdrop. "She was at that party on Saturday night with Matt Ellis when she just ditched him and vanished! The cops found her yesterday totally drunk and covered in bruises," Georgie raised her eyebrows meaningfully. "Particularly on her _knees."_

Several of the girls around her drew back with high-pitched ' _ewwws_!', but M'gann had no idea what the issue was. Chloe, the brunette on Georgie's right snorted derisively. "That girl is such a slut!"

"It's not as bad as what happened to Annie White..." another girl began to say, but M'gann's attention was drawn to the quiet girl sitting just at the edge of the group. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a turtleneck top with the collar pulled right up to her chin. The girl rubbed her neck subconsciously as if she were hiding something.

 _'Oh God... I hope they don't notice...'_ came through the static of M'gann's telepathy as she studied her. _'I don't even remember...'_

The girl noticed M'gann staring and instantly flushed crimson before glaring defensively. M'gann quickly turned away and tried to focus on what Mr Forder was saying, but she couldn't shake the weird feeling that had settled in her gut. She turned to Zee who was doodling absently all over her notebook. _'Hey, did you hear about Lacey Collins?'_

Zee rolled her eyes. _'I didn't think you were into gossip.'_

 _'I'm not,'_ M'gann replied. _'I just...'_

She was cut off by the shrill bell announcing the end of the lesson, followed by the immediate racket of thirty students packing up their books in a mad hurry to escape. M'gann watched the girl in the turtleneck vanish through the door the quickest, wondering what in the world was going on.

* * *

It was boredom that brought Dick Grayson to the cave that morning. He was meant to have gone back to school that day, but since he had gotten shot, Alfred had insisted that he at least take an extra day or two to recover. This meant no training, no 'strenuous' exercise and lots of hanging around horizontal in bed. Dick had managed to follow the butler's orders for all of thirty minutes. And then he had tucked his shades in his jacket pocket and taken the zeta tube to the mountain.

He knew that Connor, M'gann and Zatanna were at school, and Kaldur was with Aquaman in Atlantis for special training or something, leaving just Wally and Artemis home. He headed straight for the rec room, figuring that that's where that couple were most likely to be.

Unsurprisingly, Dick found them cuddling on the couch, the TV on quietly but neither of them watching it. "Hey," Dick announced his entrance, giving them a chance to fix themselves in case he was walking in on them in the middle of something. He jokingly covered his eyes as he stepped up behind the green couch. "Are you guys decent? I don't want to be scarred for life."

He could practically hear Artemis' eye-roll as the pair of them looked up at him. Wally just laughed, which Dick took to mean that it was safe to look. He glanced down at Artemis snuggled against Wally's side. "If you guys want some alone time, I can come back later."

"You're fine, Boy Blunder," Artemis smirked. "Besides, I haven't seen you in ages. Come join us."

Dick hopped over the back of the couch ignoring the pain that flared in his chest at such a simple move, and landed cross-legged on the seat next to Artemis' legs. He raised an eyebrow at the two people he considered siblings. "I'm not cuddling."

"Damn right you're not," Artemis grinned as she nudged him with her toe. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Dick sighed irritably, extremely fed up of answering that question. He hated it when he was injured, as everyone always started looking at him differently, as if he had suddenly become terribly breakable. He felt as if he had to prove himself all over again, just because he was human and had to rely on armour instead of powers. Artemis just gave him a look at his attitude, and he realised that nether she nor Wally were looking at him as if he might imminently shatter. They didn't deserve his annoyance. "It's just a bruise."

"Then why was Wally covered in your blood?" Artemis pointed out. "I didn't think that bruises bled."

Dick glanced at Wally who shrugged innocently. "I was wearing armour," Dick explained. "It caught the bullet. Mostly. It only went through a little bit, though, so technically; I was only _partially_ shot."

Artemis snorted at him and his ingenious logic. "I guess that means that I was only _partially_ kidnapped, right?"

"Yep, and Wally was only _partially_ scared to death," Dick added, deciding that if they were going to talk about what had happened yesterday, then his best friend should admit his part too. Besides, he would rather talk about their issues than his own. God forbid they bring up Zatanna, or somehow manage to get him to tell them about Batgirl or the fact that he was feeling pretty useless with all his downtime with injuries...

Wally glared at him. "I thought you were a goner Dude!" he said indignantly, throwing the hand that wasn't around Artemis in the air to emphasise his point. "I am allowed to freak out when I think my best friend is dead!"

"Exactly," Dick nodded, and then looked pointedly at Artemis. "Just like you're allowed to freak out about what Hatter wanted you for."

"I am not freaking out!" Artemis said defensively. She then seemed to realise that by retorting so fast she had just confirmed Dick's point. She shifted in Wally's grip. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little weirded out. But it's not exactly pleasant to know that someone wanted to kidnap you for... you know... _that."_

Wally wrapped both of his arms around his girlfriend to comfort her, an embrace which she gladly leaned into. "I'm not going to let that happen," he promised.

They fell into companionable silence for a while, the only sound being the low murmur of the television. Dick slouched back against the couch cushion, his hand absently rubbing at the wound on his chest as it began to ache. He almost thought that he had gotten away with not talking about anything that was bugging him, but then Artemis piped up. "So, Zee turned you into a rabbit, huh?"

Dick dropped his head back against the couch and sighed.

Artemis turned to look up at Wally. "Please tell me that you got pictures. I can't believe I missed it."

"Can't say that I was thinking of finding my camera when it happened, babe," Wally answered, sounding a little disappointed. "But I bet we can get a still from the cave's security footage."

"I've already wiped it," Dick said smugly. He really didn't want Bruce to see the footage and then try and awkwardly talk about his girl problems. Bruce had already tried to give him 'the talk'. He did _not_ want a repeat of that embarrassment.

"Spoilsport," Artemis pouted. "So... have you guys spoken since...?"

Dick gave her a look that clearly stated just how much he did _not_ want to talk about Zatanna.

"Okay then," she muttered.

Silence fell again, this time a little more awkwardly than before, making Dick feel guilty. Artemis was just worried about him; and the fact that she was Zatanna's best friend too? Well, it couldn't be easy being stuck in the middle. But he _really_ didn't want to talk about it, not with everything else that was going on. The fact that he and his girlfriend were having problems paled in comparison to say, multiple kidnapping attempts.

Wally, being the complete and utter genius that he was, decided to be the one to break the silence. And he did it in only a way that Wally could. "You know our lives could totally be from a comic book."

"Huh?" Artemis asked, giving Wally all the encouragement he needed.

"You know, we're superheroes fighting super villains. We could totally star in our own comic book," Wally explained, getting very into this topic. "Sometimes I even wonder if we really are characters in like a cartoon or something and we just don't know it."

Dick looked at Wally thoughtfully for a moment. "That's meta, dude."

"I know right?" Wally nodded. "But anyway. I was watching that Marvel Avengers movie the other day and I realised something. We are totally expys of those characters. I mean, Artemis is obviously Hawkeye, and you'd be Black Widow."

"The red-headed chick?" Dick scoffed.

"The totally bad-ass human _ninja_ red-headed chick with _gadgets,"_ Wally elaborated. Artemis was trying very hard not to laugh as Dick mulled the idea over, and then shrugged. It was close enough. "And Kaldur would be Captain America because he's all stoic and leaderly. And M'gann would be Thor because she's an alien that flies and stuff. And clearly, Connor is the Hulk."

Artemis gave up on trying not to laugh. Dick was two seconds behind her. "So, that makes you Iron Man then?" he asked.

"Why, because he's red and yellow?" Artemis added between giggles.

"No, no," Wally shook his head. "Do you remember in the movie, when he's the flying around backing everyone else up? That's totally me! I'm telling you; the Avengers were based on us!"

Dick smirked. "Absolutely, Walls. Except for the fact that the Avengers was written in like the sixties or something. We've only been a team for two years."

"Technicalities," Wally waved off. The three of them continued laughing as they imagined themselves as their respective comic book counterparts, all previous issues momentarily forgotten. And then Wally had an epiphany.

"Wait... does that mean that Batman is Nick Fury?"

* * *

"Uh, hey."

Zatanna looked up from her lunch to see Connor hovering awkwardly by their table. He was looking directly at M'gann as if the homo-magi wasn't even there, but considering the weirdness going on between the two of them, she decided not to comment.

M'gann snapped out of staring off distractedly into the distance. "Oh, hi Connor."

"Can I...?" he gestured at the table, asking permission to join them. _Wow,_ Zee thought to herself. _These two are really out of sorts._

"Sure," M'gann nodded. There was plenty of space for the half-Kryptonian, but she cleared some of her stuff regardless as Connor sat down. Although they were next to each other, there was space for a whole other person between them, making the divide glaringly obvious. They sat in complete and utter silence for a whole five minutes as the three of them pretended that they were occupied with their lunches.

"So," Zatanna said eventually. "Connor. How was Chemistry?"

"Good." Connor grunted.

Zatanna sighed. She should have known that Connor was not the way to go to inspire conversation. M'gann had gone back to staring at something that had to be truly fascinating over Zee's shoulder, her attention not wavering in the slightest as she had spoken to Connor. "Megan," Zatanna tried to elicit a response from the Martian. "What were you saying earlier, about Lacey Collins?"

M'gann blinked and then shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, nothing. Just gossip."

The silence stretched on. Trying to get the two of them to talk was like pulling teeth, and Zatanna was almost glad when she glanced down at her watch and realised that she had other places to be. She packed up her stuff and stood. "I've got to get to my appointment. I'll see you in Home Ec, Megan."

"Okay," the Martian replied absently.

Zatanna slung her satchel over her shoulder and all but ran from the bundle of tension in the lunch room. She looked back as she reached the door to see the two of them hadn't moved in the slightest. She'd have to talk to Artemis about teaming up on them and forcing them to talk. Connor liked closets, right? Maybe they could lock the two of them away for a while or something.

But Zatanna pushed M'gann and Connor out of her mind as she reached the school counsellor's office. Almost instinctively, she double checked the corridor was clear of other people, not wanting the rumours to start that she mentally unstable or something. Dr Grantes called for her to come in, and she tentatively opened the door. She may have been coming to see the doc for a month now, but she still wasn't overly comfortable about it.

The office itself was nice. Just a small room tucked in the east corner of the school; its blinded window letting in a little of the winter sun through the slats. A comfortable couch sat opposite the desk in lieu of chairs, and a whole wall of certificates and doctorates gleamed from behind the doc's high-backed chair. "Ah, Zatanna," Dr Grantes greeted. "Come in, take a seat."

With a smile, Zee perched on the couch and dropped her satchel on the floor. Almost immediately she began to relax, settling back against the cushions as Dr Grantes observed her.

"So, Zatanna," Dr Grantes began. "How have you been since our last session? Any improvement in your relationship with Rob?"

Zee chewed her lip. "We've... spoken..."

Dr Grantes smiled knowingly. "Ah, so you've argued. Do you feel calmer for having vented your frustrations to him?"

"Not really," Zee shook her head and sighed. "I feel like an idiot for blowing up the way I did. We haven't spoken for so long that I couldn't decide what to yell at him for, and I just sounded petty."

"Do you feel as if your feelings are not important?" Dr Grantes asked. He pushed his round spectacles up his nose as he leaned back in his seat, his hands steepled casually on his desk. "Going ignored for so long must have been draining for you."

Zee was beginning to feel sleepy, but she pushed herself upright. "Exactly! I feel exhausted about the whole thing, I just want things to go back to the way they were between us. But I guess, six months should have been more than enough for me to realise that that was never going to happen," Zee sighed as the truth finally hit her. "We've been over for a long time. He just wasn't man enough to tell me, and I was just too stubborn to see it. I'm such an idiot!"

"It's okay Zatanna," Dr Grantes said warmly, his voice easing the pain in her chest and stopping the tears from falling. "You're safe here. Just relax."

And she did. She calmed down so much that she didn't even realise just how much time had passed. She blinked at the clock on the wall above Dr Grantes, the whole hour having gone by without her even noticing.

Dr Grantes smiled at her. "I think you should be getting back to class, Zatanna," he said as she collected her bag, her head spinning as she stood up too fast. "We'll have our next session on Thursday, if you'd like."

Zee nodded, feeling lighter than she had in days. "Absolutely. Thanks so much Dr Grantes."

* * *

Dr Grantes rubbed his temples to try and ease the tension headache that was quickly brewing. If he had to listen to one more silly little girl spout off about her teenage drama _he_ might just end up being the one on the couch. He had to force himself to remember that it would all be worth it.

He'd get his revenge on the Justice League and their... _children._

A huge shadow fell over him, making him sigh in frustration. Without even looking up he scolded; "You shouldn't be here during the day. Someone will see you."

"I would be more worried about the _niños_ recognising you, _Profesor,"_ Bane retorted as he walked around and occupied the couch that Zatanna had just vacated. "The wig does little to change your appearance."

"And yet the brats are blind to what they don't want to see," Dr Grantes said smugly, even as his hand subconsciously reached up to adjust his hair piece. "They are imbeciles – their blatant disregard for simple common sense is laughable. The witch doesn't even realise that I have her in the palm of my hand, and the Kryptonian doesn't even bother to hide. Soon I will have them all bending to my will."

"And Tetch?" Bane interrupted. "Is he close to completion, yet?"

Dr Grantes rolled his eyes. "Tetch is being... stubborn."

"Perhaps he just needs the right..." Bane cracked his knuckles. "... _motivation."_

"Unfortunately, he needs all of his faculties intact in order to work," Dr Grantes replied regretfully. He would honestly love to break the loathsome little man; but he had to admit that he needed the Hatter if he was to succeed.

Bane smirked. "But he doesn't need his legs, _Profesor."_

It was incredibly tempting to take up the muscle head on his offer, but manipulating someone as unstable as the Hatter required a bit more finesse than a few broken limbs. "He might be less than inclined to co-operate if I were to condone that," Dr Grantes pointed out. "He is hung up on the archer. Refuses to work properly until he has her. You wouldn't happen to have a solution for that, would you?"

"I may have a few ideas, _Profesor,"_ Bane replied. "Though it will require some resources on your part."

"Whatever it takes," Dr Grantes agreed. To see the Justice League fall, he would pay any price.

* * *

Batman grunted as he was shoved against a brick wall, turning his highly unamused batglare onto the idiot that had done it. Sensibly, the guy backed up, practically tripping over his own feet in his desperation to get away. His friends showed less intelligence.

There was a group of about twenty of them; all men dressed in overalls and coats like dockworkers and carrying weapons ranging from crowbars to knives. They were defending the warehouse that Batman had come to investigate in connection to the Hatter, and they were looking pretty pleased with themselves. They must have figured that because they had him surrounded, they had won.

_Fools._

Batman lashed out with a punch that downed one of them in a single blow, disarming another in the same instant and tripping a third. Unease rippled through the group as some of them realised just how quickly the Bat was taking them out, but as long as they had numbers on their side, the mob mentality demanded that they keep fighting. So Batman started thinning out their numbers. Rapidly.

In under a minute he had whittled his opponents down to three. They must have had at least one braincell between them, because they decided to attack simultaneously. A crowbar, a baseball bat and a knife came at him at the same time, and Batman reacted, preparing himself to receive a blow from one of them. But it never came. As he blocked the knife and crowbar and then smashed two of the men's heads together, a shadow dropped from above and crushed the last guy.

Batman didn't even turn to look as he dropped the unconscious men to the floor. "What are you doing here, Batgirl?"

"Backing you up," the teenage girl replied as she stepped off of the man that she had used to cushion her landing. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you are disobeying me," Batman replied dryly. "Go home. Now."

"No," Batgirl refused adamantly. She folded her arms across her chest and made a very good attempt of her own version of the batglare. It might have been intimidating if she wasn't trying to use it on _him_. "I can help you and you know it. And with Robin down with an injury you could use a partner to watch your back."

 _Well, she was certainly persistent._ "No."

"You're here to talk to the March Hare, right?" Batgirl asked, gesturing at the warehouse behind them where the human trafficker normally operated. "He's supplied for the Mad Hatter before and _that's_ who you're trying to find."

 _And smart too_. Batman didn't ask how she she knew, but she didn't need to be prompted.

"He's the guy behind the robberies in Gotham," Batgirl continued. "All of the thieves were being controlled by incomplete tech, which is why they were less than stable, and once I remembered that they were all wearing hats I figured that it had to be the Mad Hatter. He's collecting supplies together for something bigger. But what I don't get is why is this a League investigation? Hatter is small time."

"That is need to know," Batman replied. "And you do not need to know."

Batgirl scowled, but decided to let the question go. "Fine. Let's just go talk to the March Hare and find out if he knows what Hatter is up to."

"He's long gone by now," Batman said matter-of-factly. "He disappeared the moment that I showed up. But he would have left his records behind."

"Then let's go find them, then." Batgirl declared as she turned towards the warehouse, and started thinking out loud. "But what are the chances of Hatter using his old supplier? He's obviously moved up, maybe he's getting his victims somewhere else. I mean, the guy from the jewellery store wasn't even from Gotham – maybe if we can connect the victims we can find him that way..."

"Stop." Batman said more forcefully than before. He didn't want Batgirl anywhere near this investigation. It was enough to have to worry about the team of established teenage heroes, without having a novice to contend with. Batgirl had potential, but he wasn't ready to accept a second protégé, not in the middle of all that was happening. "You are to drop this investigation and _go home._ Am I understood?"

"But..."

"No."

"I can..."

" _Go_ _home,_ Batgirl." Batman cut her off, realising that she was too stubborn to obey that order. "You are meddling in things you do not understand. You are untrained, unprepared and a liability. You are a hindrance to this investigation. Drop this before you get yourself or someone else killed."

Batgirl's bottom lip quivered slightly, but she didn't cry. Something for which Batman was incredibly grateful. He knew that he had been cruel, but it was a necessary evil to keep her from harm. She took a deep breath to swallow her disappointment, and then turned to leave.

"His name is Jason, by the way," she said as she squared her shoulders, refusing to look weak. "The kid that jacked your tyres. Jason Todd. He's been living on the streets around Crime Alley ever since his Mom died from an overdose. Just in case you still wanted to know."

Batman watched her go, his mind already going over possibilities. But he still couldn't quite shake one nagging thought. _She really does have potential._

* * *

Dick spun in the chair behind the computer in the Batcave, staring up at the ceiling high above him. He was supposed to be in bed, but there was no chance that he was going to sleep with Bruce still out on patrol. He had already been through the files on the computer like a hundred times, so now he was resigned to making himself dizzy instead.

He hated being injured. It made him feel like a spare part that had no purpose, especially when he was forced to stay at home while Batman was out on the streets. He felt useless, able to do nothing but worry and wait. And the fact that his chest was really starting to ache was not helping his mood in the slightest.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the rumble of the batmobile's engine echoed around the cavern, signalling the car's arrival a moment before the sleek, black machine glided through the concealed waterfall entrance. Dick spun in the chair and waited for Bruce to climb out with his usual grace.

"You should be in bed," was Bruce's warm greeting as he pulled down the cowl. Dick rolled his eyes. "You have school in a few hours."

"No point going to bed then," Dick retorted. Bruce shot him a look as he took off his gloves and removed the cape. "Anything interesting happen on patrol? Any word on the Hatter?"

Bruce gestured for Dick to vacate the chair so that he could get to the computer, to which the Boy Wonder begrudgingly complied. "The March Hare was a dead end," he grunted. "But I figured that it probably would be. Batgirl had an interesting idea that the Hatter may be operating out of town..."

"Batgirl's patrolling with you?" Dick interrupted. He was extremely glad that Bruce couldn't see his expression right then, but he suspected that his guardian could probably detect the jealousy in his tone. "I mean, I thought you told her to back off."

Bruce sighed. "She is very persistent. I thought that by distracting her with something else she would leave the case alone, but she's already found out who the boy was. She made the Hatter connection and found me at the March Hare's burrow all by herself. She's good."

Dick forcefully swallowed the lump in his throat. Bruce sounded _impressed_. It had been a long time since Dick had managed to earn that pride. Ever since the kidnapping Bruce had been more concerned about his recovery than what he had managed to achieve in less than optimal conditions. And then he had managed to get shot, _again_ , all because he hadn't paid enough attention to spot a glaringly obvious trap.

It was no wonder that Bruce was in the market for a new protégé.

"You should get some sleep, Dick," Bruce suggested. "Are you sure that you're up for going to school tomorrow?"

"I'm _fine,"_ Dick snapped angrily. Bruce raise an eyebrow at him questioningly, but Dick didn't want to get into it. He ground his teeth to restrain his annoyance. "I'm going to bed."

And with that he stormed off, leaving a bewildered looking Bruce behind.


	7. Part Seven

**Part Seven**

Alfred Pennyworth was a man of many talents. He could cook like a gourmet chef and keep the Manor far cleaner than Martha Stewart could ever dream of. He could stitch both garments and flesh; both skills that he had far too much practice in. He had mastered the art of being neither seen nor heard, his stealth great enough to surprise even the Bat himself. He also knew how to handle a twelve-gage shotgun with deadly accuracy.

But, despite all of Master Richard's claims to the contrary, he was not clairvoyant.

He truly did not see this coming.

"Alfred, this is Jason," Bruce said. "He's going to be staying with us from now on."

The butler prayed that his shock was not displayed openly on his face as he looked down at the small boy standing just behind Bruce. The child, Jason, came up to just above Bruce's elbow and was frightfully thin. His clothes were dirty and torn, and several scrapes and bruises adorned his pale skin. His dark hair was streaked with grime and his blue eyes had a wild look about them. Not the wariness of a frightened child, but the dangerous glint of a cornered animal.

"Welcome to Wayne Manor, Master Jason," Alfred greeted cordially, even as the title stuck slightly in his throat. It wasn't that he didn't have sympathy for the boy – clearly his life had been tough before now – but the butler couldn't help but see just how dreadfully wrong this could all go. There was something about Jason that put him on edge. He wasn't a shattered child like Dick had been, needing someone to help him put the fragments back together again. It was too late for that. Jason was already hardened to a sharp point.

 _Just what have you gotten yourself into, Master Bruce?_ Alfred thought to himself as he invited Jason to follow him to what would be his room. Across the hall from Master Richard's room was a guest chamber that was already made-up. Alfred showed the boy the en-suite and found some of Dick's old clothes from storage, and then left Jason to settle in. By the time that he returned downstairs, Bruce was sitting in his study, probably already starting on the paperwork.

 _Are you mad?_ Alfred wanted to demand of his eldest charge. But that could be deemed as improper, so the butler fell back on his default: "Are you sure that this is wise, sir?"

"I couldn't leave him there, Alfred," Bruce answered. "He was living out of a cardboard box in a drug house and hadn't eaten in days. It was his first winter on the streets. He wouldn't have made it to Christmas. He needs a home, Alfred."

"Yes," Alfred agreed. Shelter was a basic need after all, particularly during a Gotham winter. "But does he need _this_ home?"

"I know that it's more work for you..."

"That is not what concerns me," Alfred cut him off, mildly shocked that Bruce would even think that that was his problem. He had already proven his dedication to his job when he agreed to support the Batman in his crusade – his ability to balance his workload should _never_ be called into question. "Have you considered the repercussions, sir? How are we to maintain the secret beneath this house from a curious child?"

Bruce shifted in his seat. "Jason already knows. I approached him as Batman, intending to scare him straight. But then I saw that he was just a homeless kid doing whatever he had to so that he could eat. Then I invited him home as Bruce Wayne."

For a moment, Alfred was stunned into silence. Bruce was _never_ one to make such rash decisions, in either one of his personas. But perhaps, maybe, this choice had not been made in the heat of the moment? A stray child is not something one just picks up on his way home from patrol. Surely? "And you decided this... this morning?"

Bruce nodded.

 _Oh._ It seemed that sometimes even the Bat could impulse buy.

"Is Master Richard aware of this?" Alfred asked, silently hoping that Bruce had at the very least consulted his son... his _eldest_ son... before taking in a second child. Bruce shook his head uneasily, making Alfred wonder what on earth it was about Jason that would make Bruce act so compulsively. "How do you intend to break the news?"

"I'll pick him up from school today," Bruce replied. "He'll understand."

Alfred was not half as sure about that as Bruce seemed to be. Something had been distracting the teenager for a while now, and the butler highly doubted that a drastic change in the status quo would help Master Richard in _any_ way _._ But as ever, it was not Alfred's place to meddle in his master's affairs.

But he would always be there to pick up the pieces.

* * *

There was something going on at Happy Harbour High. And M'gann was on a mission to find out what.

She had laid awake in bed the whole of the night before, studying the ceiling tiles as she mulled over the fragments that she had. She had started paying attention to the gossip that flittered and changed from one student to another, beginning to realise that a lot of weird things had been happening.

She had substitute teachers for most of her lessons as there was some kind of flu going around, but that wasn't particularly unusual for the time of year. What was odd though, was the amount of rumours flying around about girls disappearing for short periods of time, and then coming back with _suspicious_ bruises. M'gann had learnt from the internet what the skinned knees could mean, her green cheeks flushing bright pink at some of the... _descriptive_ explanations.

But this could all be put down to teenage hormones. If it weren't for the girl in the turtleneck sweater.

As the bell rang to signal the beginning of lunch, M'gann was the second student out of her seat, milliseconds behind the girl. Zatanna and Connor had watched her fly off in surprise, but the Martian ignored them as she followed the girl out into the quad.

The benches and shaded spots that were usually packed in the summer months were completely deserted in the December chill, which was probably what the girl was going for. M'gann didn't mind. She loved the cold, and the fact that they were alone was perfect for what she wanted. As the door clicked shut behind her she called; "It's Rebecca, right? Second period English?"

Rebecca froze in her tracks. "Are you stalking me?"

"What? No," M'gann denied, only now realising just how weird it was that she had followed a classmate until they were completely alone. "I just wanted to talk to you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Rebecca snapped. "Now leave me alone."

The long-haired blonde walked stiffly over to a bench and sat down on the frost-covered wood, stubbornly pretending that she wasn't shivering. After waiting a moment to reassess her strategy, M'gann decided to join Rebecca in sitting in the cold. She had already come this far, after all. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened," Rebecca retorted shortly, and then sighed as she realised that she had inadvertently admitted that something was wrong. "Look, I don't want to talk about it."

M'gann let her telepathy gently brush the outer recesses of Rebecca's mind; just enough to get an imprint of the girl's mental state without invading her privacy too much. "Actually, you do," she pointed out quietly. "Something's really scared you and you want someone to notice that you're not alright, because you need someone to confirm that you're not imagining what happened."

Rebecca blinked in shock, and M'gann wondered if maybe she had been too accurate. She didn't want to freak the girl out any more than she already was. But Rebecca just dropped her voice to a whisper. "Why do you care? You don't even know me."

"I just want to help," M'gann smiled reassuringly. "I promise that I won't repeat anything you say. Please, tell me what happened to you. It might help."

Rebecca looked away, but M'gann just caught the sight of her eyes moistening with tears. "I... I _don't_ _know_ what happened..." she murmured quietly, staring at the weeds that bravely broke through the asphalt to face the frost. "I mean... I can... I can _guess_ because _after..._ but I don't _remember_ it. I think... I think I was drugged or something..."

"What's the last thing you do remember?" M'gann prompted.

"I... I don't know," Rebecca shrugged. "I had stayed after school on Friday for a study session, I think. I remember it was pitch black when I walked out the door. And then there was a voice... all garbled so I couldn't understand the words. And then nothing. I must have blacked out."

"Was there anyone else there?"

Rebecca shook her head. "Not that I saw. Just the guy with the weird voice, but I... I don't even know if that was real... I mean, when I woke up, I was _home_. My Mom was yelling at me that I was going to be late for practice... I thought that I'd imagined the whole thing... but then..." her voice broke, the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Then I saw _this..."_

Rebecca tugged down the high collar of her sweater, revealing the most atrocious hiccy M'gann had ever seen. Even several days later it was still a deep purple, stretching from just below her chin and vanishing under the shoulder of her coat. Distinct, red indents, now scabbed over, encircled her pulse point. Teeth marks. Someone had bitten her hard enough to draw blood.

"Oh my..." M'gann breathed, her hand covering her mouth in horror.

"That's... that's not the worst..." Rebecca murmured as she pulled the collar back into place and drew her knees up to her chest protectively. "The... the _marks_ are _everywhere..._ Hand prints... bites... I... I..." she broke off, trying to swallow back the sobs that were threatening to take over. "Even... _down there..._ I was so... so _sore_... I think... I think..."

M'gann drew Rebecca into a hug, letting the girl cry on her shoulder.

_'I was raped.'_

* * *

Being back at school felt strange. Especially as everyone kept looking at him curiously, as if any second he might break out some ninja moves or something. Being the ward of Bruce Wayne, Dick was kind of used to everyone knowing about him, but this was different. It seemed that the rumours had spread about his actions during the kidnapping three months ago. Some were mostly true: that he had stood up to an armed gunman and mouthed off; others were a little more creative. But all the stories generally agreed on one thing.

Dick Grayson was officially a badass.

Part of him liked the recognition – it was tough to play the mundane civilian when your alter ego was a crime-fighting vigilante – but mostly he was just weirded out. Everyone wanted to talk to him and ask him what happened. He had spent the entirety of first period Physics trying to field questions while his teacher tried in vain to teach them about particles and atoms. But then Professor Saunders had quickly given up and joined in, making Dick want to jump out the window just to get away from the attention.

The jocks that used to bully him now thought that he was cool, and the popular girls, that wouldn't have even noticed him before, had suddenly become his fangirls.

Thank God it was only temporary – at least until the next big scandal or kidnapping attempt.

Dick actively tried to avoid people as much as possible, but it was kind of hard to do between lessons when the hallways were packed with students. He scanned the mass of bodies until he spotted a familiar flash of red just down the corridor. Now if only he could get there without...

"Hey, Grayson!" Devon Wynters said loudly, raising his hand for a high-five. "Nice job, Dude!"

 _This is so backwards._ Dick thought in stunned disbelief. Three months ago this jerk was taking the piss out of his name and circus roots, and now...? With a sigh, Dick reciprocated the high-five. "Uh... thanks, I guess," he mumbled unenthusiastically.

Devon just kept grinning at him as if they were best friends, even as Dick moved on; trying to avoid eye contact with anyone else who might want to speak to him. Finally, he made it to the safe harbour of his target, coming to a stop beside the locker just as the owner slammed it shut. "Hey, Babs."

"Hi Dick," Barbara replied automatically, slinging her bag over her shoulder. And then her eyes widened as she suddenly realised who he was. "You're back?! Thank god! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, (that he tried very hard not to wince at) squeezing him for a moment before realising that she had to stand on her tiptoes to do so. "Did you get _taller?!"_

 _Yes, yes I did_ , Dick thought smugly as he realised that he was _finally_ taller than the redhead. He had known that he would have a growth spurt eventually, but he decided not to comment on that. "You saw me two weeks ago," he reminded her instead. "We played video games for a whole twenty-four hours before Alfred came in and cut off the plug."

Babs looked at him curiously. "Yeah, but you were still a midget then. What has that butler been feeding you?"

Dick rolled his eyes. He had missed this – their playful banter. He had missed having a normal life and a normal best friend; even if said life and friend also came with school and homework and mind numbing boredom. He really did like Barbara.

He just wasn't a fan of Batgirl.

At first it had seemed cool, having someone else in the Cave. When he had woken up and found Barbara eyeing the utility belts (and he had known instantly that it was her, the red hair was _very_ distinctive) he had been glad to see her. He had always wanted to tell her about Robin; he hated keeping that secret from her. But then he had realised just how much of Batman's attention Batgirl was taking. How, without him even knowing, she had started to replace him as Batman's partner.

He was man enough to admit it. He was jealous.

"Hey, Dick, are you alright?" Babs asked, dragging the Boy Wonder out of his thoughts. "You kinda zoned out there for a minute."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Dick replied. He tried for a smile, but it faltered as he met her blue eyes. She was looking at him in concern, making his stomach twist with guilt. He knew that what he intended to do was going to hurt her, and that he was doing it for selfish reasons, but he had already made up his mind. "Actually, can we talk? Privately?"

Babs raised an eyebrow at him and then glanced at the rapidly emptying corridor around them. "Sure," she said slowly, before allowing him to lead her into an empty classroom. They were both going to be late for third period, but at that moment, Dick didn't particularly care. Once they were alone behind closed doors, she asked; "Okay, so what's this about?"

"Batgirl."

Barbara's eyes widened slightly, the only outward sign that she was surprised. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said convincingly.

"Look, I know it's you so you don't have to lie," Dick replied. "I recognised the outfit from your last dance recital, and your hair is a dead giveaway. I know you're Batgirl."

"Have you hit your head or something?" She tried for a smirk. "Because you're talking crazy."

Dick sighed. "Come on, Babs, just give it up. It's okay."

He reached out to take her shoulders but she batted his hands away and shoved him against the wall. Pain flared in his chest as she hit him right where he had been shot three days ago, making his breathing hitch. "Oh god I'm so sorry Dick!" she immediately apologised, her fingers ghosting over the still-healing wound as he squeezed his eyes shut against the burning in his chest and tried very hard to remember how to breathe. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you... did I really push you that hard? I'm sorry, I... _oh."_

Barbara froze, her hands still lightly placed over his heart. "Oh... oh god..." she murmured. Her eyes roved over his entire body, lingering a moment on his face as the realisation hit her. "Your Robin, aren't you?"

Dick took as deep a breath as he could with his chest still hurting, and nodded. He had been planning on telling her anyway; but he had kinda hoped that she wouldn't pick such a painful way to figure it out for herself.

Her cheeks flushed scarlet as she instantly sprung away from him as if burned. "In the cave... when I... when you... oh god..."

Dick felt his face heat up as he caught on to what she was getting at. "It's the masks," he explained quickly. "And the drugs probably had something to do with it... but the Robin persona is a lot more... self assured... than I am. I mean, not that I don't think you're... you know... but I... I really need to stop talking now."

"Right, uh..." Barbara pointedly looked at anything other than him. "Can we change the subject?"

"Yeah," Dick said gratefully. This conversation was going to be tough enough without adding that whole bundle of awkwardness. "So... uh... um..."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Barbara saved him from having to finish a complete thought, for which he was incredibly grateful, but at the same time; apprehensive. There wasn't really a tactful way of putting it, so he just came right out with:

"I don't think you should be Batgirl."

Barbara stared at him, mouth agape. "Did Batman put you up to this?"

"What? No," Dick denied. Bruce would probably kill him if he knew that they were having this conversation. He had revealed his ID without permission, or a great deal of thought, and this wasn't exactly the most secure of locations and... _wait._ "Batman doesn't want you to be Batgirl?"

Barbara blinked. "Of course he doesn't. He yelled at me to leave the case alone and sent me home like some naughty little kid."

 _So he's..._ not _replacing me?_

Now Dick really felt like crap. He could see that the rejection had really hurt Babs, even as the relief of knowing that Bats didn't want her as a partner slightly ease the knot of insecurity in his chest. But that didn't mean that he could condone his best friend running around in a bullet-proof vest and ski-mask. Even if she wasn't taking his place he didn't want her in a position where she could get hurt. "Maybe Batman has a point," he muttered, making Barbara glare at him mutinously. "This Life is dangerous, Babs..."

"And what? I can't handle it?!" she snapped. "My Dad's a cop, Dick. I know what it's like out there. I'm not some naïve little girl playing dress-up!"

"I know you're not..."

"I can handle myself!" Babs continued. "And I can help – I already have! I found the kid, I figured out that it was the Hatter – I think I can even find him if Batman would just give me a chance!"

"Babs, you're untrained, and truthfully, your costume is nowhere near good enough," Dick pointed out with brutal honesty. He felt horrible, but he had to make her see that the Life wasn't always exciting and fun. It was dark and dangerous and well... It greatly reduced one's life expectancy. "You're going to get hurt, or worse, _killed._ How do you think your Dad's gonna react when your corpse gets de-masked?"

Babs turned as white as a ghost, and Dick realised that he had gone too far.

"I... I'm..." he began to apologise, but Babs just scowled at him.

"So what; just because your parents are already dead you're allowed to play hero?" she spat.

Dick froze. He couldn't believe that she had just said that. He couldn't believe that he had _pushed her_ to the point where she would be so spiteful. He knew what it was like for someone to try and tell him that he couldn't be Robin – he had had the complete reverse of this conversation with Bruce on more than one occasion. And now he was hypocritically trying to tell Babs to quit? And _why?_ Because he was jealous?

Barbara hesitated a moment, guilt flashing in her eyes as she too realised what she had said. But she didn't take it back.

"I don't care _what_ you or Batman think," she said quietly but firmly. "I'm going to prove that I am good enough to be Batgirl. And neither of you can stop me."

And with that she stormed out of the classroom, letting the door slam loudly behind her.

Dick closed his eyes and hung his head in shame. _What have I done?_

* * *

M'gann was reeling from her talk with Rebecca. She had known that there was something terribly wrong happening at the school; but a sexual predator? It just struck a little too close to home.

Her mind flashed back to the mortified expression on Artemis' face as she had muttered about 'Alice', the implications of what could have befallen the archer shocking them all. M'gann didn't fail to notice the similarities between Artemis and Rebecca either; the young blonde archetype matching them both. But surely the Mad Hatter wasn't stalking a school in Rhode Island? Batman had said that the Hatter had been active in Gotham, which was several hours away from Happy Harbour. So it was a little improbable that he was behind the attacks... _right?_

M'gann chewed her lip. Should she inform the League? This wasn't really their jurisdiction... Maybe she'd just leave a tip for the police. They would know what to do.

"Hey, are you okay?" Connor asked, disrupting her daze. He was looking at her worriedly, his blue eyes shining with concern. "You've been out of it all day. Has something happened?"

M'gann looked away for a moment, debating whether or not she wanted to tell him the whole truth. He was the one that had accused her of abusing her powers after all, and she didn't really want to get into another argument him again. But she had missed Connor so much, and she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I... _overheard_ something..."

Connor raised an eyebrow, but thankfully for the sake of their relationship, he said nothing.

"It was an accident," M'gann said defensively, and then sighed. "My telepathy... it's been on the fritz lately. I keep picking up on things without meaning to."

"That's why...?" Connor avoided meeting her eyes, suddenly finding the carpet truly fascinating. M'gann could pick up on the guilt coming off of him in waves and felt a little bit smug. They had been tense around each other for a over a month because Connor had misinterpreted her power fluctuations as invasions of privacy. It was about time that he realised that he was wrong.

M'gann nodded. "It's usually only at school where it's sometimes a bit too loud to block everyone out. There's this constant noise all the time, but sometimes I hear clearer snippets of thoughts without even trying."

"Have you spoken to your uncle?"

"No," M'gann shook her head "He's been so busy helping the League with the investigation that I didn't want to burden him with anything else."

Connor finally met her eyes, and she could see the shame and the guilt as clear as day. He reached a hand out tentatively towards her which she gladly took. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "For not listening to you. It's just that, with the G-gnomes and everything that Cadmus did... I'm a little _over reactive_ to that sort of thing."

"I know," M'gann replied. She remembered how he had first reacted to her powers; and then just as he was comfortable with sharing his mind with her, he had learned that Cadmus had imprinted subliminal commands into him. He would never admit it, but M'gann knew that her telepathy scared him. "I would never purposely do anything like that to you. I promise."

Connor offered her a half-smile, officially extending the olive branch to end the tension between them. M'gann felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders as she leaned in and shared a kiss with her boyfriend for what felt like the first time all over again. By the time that they pulled apart she was feeling a little breathless and her cheeks glowed crimson. And then Connor pulled her into a hug and managed to get her to spill everything that she had been holding back.

"What did you overhear?"

* * *

The final bell rang, unleashing the students of Gotham Academy onto the unsuspecting city. Dick was just grateful that he had survived his first day back; even if he did feel like the world's worst best friend. Barbara had avoided him ever since their... conversation... and he couldn't say that he blamed her. He hadn't meant for it to get so out of hand and he was worried about what Babs would do now that she had threatened to prove herself.

He just wanted to go home, call Wally, and take out his frustrations on a training dummy.

But that would only happen if he could avoid letting on to Alfred that something was wrong, because doubtless the butler would drag it out of him.

So part of Dick was relieved to see Bruce's Aston Martin rather than Alfred's limo waiting by the curb for him. The rest of him was instantly suspicious. Bruce didn't pick him up from school. _Ever._ Not unless something was seriously wrong.

Unless, maybe Bruce was just trying to keep up appearances. It was Dick's first day back at school after the highly publicised kidnapping. It would probably look bad if he had sent the family butler instead, _right?_

And then Bruce stepped out of the car and Dick could instantly read the grim turn of his mouth and the apprehension tensing his shoulders and jaw.

 _Oh no_. Something was _definitely_ wrong.

Dick stepped up to the passenger side of the car, his mind running through every worst case scenario his extensive imagination could come up with. Had something happened to Alfred? Or Wally? Or someone on the team? Or...? "Bruce, what's going on?" he asked, trying to keep the fear out of his tone. "Is everyone all right?"

Bruce attempted to give him a reassuring smile, but it didn't really work. He clearly had something else on his mind. "Everyone's fine," he answered. "Get in the car."

Dick raised an eyebrow but did as he was told. He shoved his backpack on the back seat before he stepped into the luxury sports car and pulled on his seatbelt. He waited for Bruce to start the engine and put Gotham Academy in the rear view mirror before he shot his guardian a look. "What's this about?"

Bruce was avoiding his eyes, keeping his own blue orbs firmly focused on the road as he drove them through the city. With the possibility of anyone being hurt or otherwise officially vetoed, Dick assumed that he must have done something to annoy his guardian, but Bruce's body language was all wrong for that. He didn't seem upset or angry or disappointed, or as if at any moment he was going to start a lecture. He seemed more... _nervous?_

Since when was Bruce nervous? About _anything?_

"Seriously, Bruce," Dick said when no answer seemed forthcoming. "What's going on?"

Bruce opened his mouth as if to say something, and then changed his mind. Dick was beginning to wonder if maybe Bruce had been body-snatched or if some alternate version of his guardian had dropped in from another universe (hey, in his line of work, it wasn't exactly unlikely). He had never seen Bruce so on edge before; as if maybe _he_ had done something wrong, not Dick. But even if he had Bruce would never admit it, and he was _way_ better at hiding his emotions than this.

Dick started studying the side of Bruce's face that he could see, trying to find the seam of the mask that this doppelgänger must be wearing.

Bruce noticed him staring and shifted in his seat. "It will be better if I show you."

"Show me what?" Dick instantly asked, but that was apparently all he was going to get from the older man. With an irritated huff Dick slouched back in his seat, even as he began cataloguing weapons and escape routes just in case he really was being kidnapped by a fake-Bruce.

They rode out the last of the thirty minute drive in complete silence; the street lamps flickering to life as they passed to ward off the early setting of the winter sun. They left the city and crossed the Bob Kane Memorial bridge, the skyscrapers replaced with towering white-dusted trees and animal crossing warning signs. By the time that they made it to the manor, Dick was so tense that his back and legs had cramped, which did not help his mood, at all.

Bruce climbed out of the car and straightened his jacket as Dick hopped out of his side as well. He slung his backpack over his shoulder as he cautiously followed Bruce up the front steps, watching and waiting for any sign of an ambush.

But nothing came out and jumped him. Bruce unlocked the front door and took off his coat, and then gestured for Dick to follow him to the living room. The Boy Wonder did as he was told, crossing the threshold a moment or so after his guardian.

The sight that greeted him stopped him cold.

Bruce stood in the middle of the room, his hands resting on the shoulders of a small boy.

"Dick, meet Jason," Bruce said calmly, though his body language completely betrayed him. "My second ward."

The Boy Wonder's heart actually stopped for a moment, his brain not able to fully comprehend what it had just been told. All he saw was a little boy with black hair and blue eyes standing in _his_ place. The kid was even wearing his clothes – _that_ red hoodie... the one that he...

Dick's fight or flight instinct kicked in. For the first time in a long time, flight won.

He muttered something before he turned tail and ran – hopefully something polite like 'excuse me', or at the very least a hurried 'gotta go', but he couldn't be sure. He was already moving; the desire to get away, to pretend that this wasn't happening, overriding everything else.

He made it to his room without even realising, his phone in his hand and dialling the only person that he could bring himself to talk to right then. He listened to the ringing with rising panic until finally a friendly voice greeted him:

" _Hi, you've reached the voicemail of the awesome Wally West – Congrats! If you are a hot babe, leave your name and -"_

Dick disconnected and tossed the phone into the far reaches of the room. The panic and fear and anger was beginning to ebb as the full realisation came crashing down on him, leaving him cold and despondent. He dropped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling tiles.

Bruce had found a new little orphan to look after. The kid even looked like him; a bit older than Dick had been when he had been taken in, but still with the same hair and eyes and traumatised stare. The kid had been through hell, Dick could tell that much from just one look at him, but he couldn't bring himself to empathise. All he saw was his replacement.

Batman already had a new partner in Batgirl; so why shouldn't Bruce have a new son too?

* * *

"The Martian is getting suspicious," Bane announced as he stepped into the counsellor's office. Dr Grantes was in his usual seat behind his desk, his back turned as if he were admiring his own diplomas, most likely to distract himself from the Hatter. Tetch was reclining on the couch with his arm around a young girl as if he were on a date rather than assembled for a meeting.

"Then make her _un_ -suspicious," Grantes retorted. "We're close to completion. I won't allow any more delays."

That last part was most likely directed at Tetch, but the Hatter wasn't really paying them any attention. He was getting right into the girl's personal space, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she didn't even seem aware that anything was happening at all. She wore a blue dress and white blouse, her blonde hair tucked back with an alice band and her eyes completely glazed over. If it weren't for the fact that Bane could see her breathing, he would have thought that she was a doll.

As Tetch began to nibble her earlobe, Bane turned away in disgust. "Distracting the Martian is meant to be your job, _Profesor,"_ he pointed out. "My role is to find more permanent solutions."

"We can't have her turning up dead yet," Grantes replied, his disappointment evident in his tone. "I have been interfering with her telepathy for over a month. I wasn't expecting to have to keep her from _this_." He gestured over his shoulder at Tetch who had latched onto the girl's neck, his teeth and tongue making the most obscene noises. _"Must you do that right now!?"_

Tetch pulled away with an audible pop. "I only get them for a little while. It's not my fault that you wanted to talk during my playtime."

Bane inwardly grinned as Dr Grantes rubbed at his temples in frustration. At least if he was going to have to suffer through working with these fools he could enjoy watching them drive each other insane. "You said that you were close to completion, _Profesor_ ," Bane steered the conversation back to the point. "The devices are operational?"

Dr Grantes glared at Tetch, who had returned to sucking the girl's neck, and then seemed to think better of it and shuddered. "Tetch promises me that the devices will be ready by Friday. With the League..."

"Uh, excuse me," Tetch interrupted, apparently not so involved in his one-sided make-out session as to not listen. "I said the devices would be ready when I get my Alice. So far, no one seems to be trying very hard to achieve that."

"I told you, we are putting a plan into motion," Dr Grantes said in exasperation.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Tetch grumbled. All this talk of his 'real' Alice seemed to distract him from the girl, who was currently not even being slightly groped.

"Then you'll see it tomorrow," Grantes replied. "I'm just putting the final components in place tonight. You'll have the archer by Friday. Satisfied?"

Tetch grinned. "I will be."

"Now, as I was saying," Grantes said, shooting Tetch a scathing look for interrupting him. "The League are getting close, and with the Martian looking into the girls we're going to have to move fast. The moment that we have the tech, we act."

"Are we ready for that, _Profesor?"_ Bane questioned, though to be honest he didn't really care. Grantes and Tetch would never make it to their target – they would never even make it outside of the school. But as far as they were concerned, Bane was their partner and wanted this to succeed just as much as they did. Which was half-true. He wanted revenge on the Justice League and their brats – but he had a far sweeter plan in mind.

His patron had promised him that.

"Absolutely," Grantes assured. "And then the Justice League will pay."

* * *

Night fell without Dick even realising. He stayed where he had landed on his bed, locked in his own mind as his thoughts threatened to drown him.

He wondered where Bruce had found the kid – was it the one that had stolen the tyres? If so, that meant that Bruce had adopted the new kid in under three days. Dick tried to remember if Bruce had took to him that fast, his early days after the Fall flashing through his mind.

No, It had taken months.

Dick had been in the boys home for a week before he had run away and taken to the streets. He had been running around playing child vigilante – in _that_ red hoodie – for over a month before he had crossed paths with Batman. Bruce had only taken him in because it was just a matter of time before Dick would have gotten himself killed, and he would have felt responsible. And that was the kicker.

Bruce had never wanted a broken kid to look after, but he had felt as if he didn't have a choice. He had never _wanted_ Dick.

But the new kid? Sold on the first meeting.

A soft sob broke the silence of the room, and for a horrible moment, Dick thought that he was crying. But it wasn't him. The quiet sniffles were muffled by the walls, the sound coming from the room across the hall.

Without really thinking about it, Dick got up to investigate. It had been ingrained in him from an early age to try and help someone that was upset. It didn't really register with him that the person that was crying was the new kid. Not until he froze outside the kid's bedroom door.

What was he supposed to say? _Sorry you've had a tough life but I want you to go away? There, there, it will be okay – just as soon as you leave?_ Dick was too angry at Bruce – at the kid – at _everyone_ to guarantee that he wouldn't say something horrible. He had already alienated Barbara – did he really want to upset a traumatise kid as well?

The crying paused for a moment, as if the kid knew that Dick was standing outside his door.

He should go in. Dick remembered that all he had wanted on his first night in the manor was a friendly face. Bruce had stood outside his door, just like he was now, hesitating about what to do. Dick knew that he should go in. But he couldn't.

He did exactly what Bruce had done that night. He walked away.


	8. Part Eight

**Part Eight**

"...was an English teacher, and the two at the electronics store were researchers for a medical company," Babs explained as she read from the laptop screen in front of her. It was her shared free period with Dick and the two of them were hanging in the library as they always did. She hadn't forgiven him, far from it, but they had been friends for way too long to let an argument get between them. They had met up under a temporary flag of truce, with the intention of maybe smoothing things over between them. It might have worked...

...if Dick was listening.

"The only thing that these people have in common is that they're all from Rhode Island," Babs continued. Opposite her, Dick stared at an open textbook, though his mind was clearly a hundred miles away from particle physics. Babs raised an eyebrow. "And Robin is clearly a girl."

Nothing.

Barbara didn't know whether she should be annoyed or not. Clearly, something was seriously bugging the Teen Wonder, but being ignored after their talk the day before? It was more than a little grating. It was Dick that had asked her if they could study together as usual, the least he could do was acknowledge her. But then again, maybe he was ignoring her _because_ of her choice of conversation? He had made it clear that he didn't want her to be Batgirl. Was he ignoring her in a petty attempt to make her drop the investigation?

Babs sighed, trying to rein in her frustration until she knew for sure. "Hey, Dickie. Are you alright?"

Dick continued staring at the textbook as if he hadn't heard her. _Wow, he really is out of it._ Concerned, Babs reached over and gently poked him, eliciting a flinch of surprise out of her friend. She had _never,_ in all of their four and a half years of friendship, _ever_ seen him jump. "Woah, are you okay?

"I'm _fine!"_ Dick snapped angrily.

 _"Sorry!_ Jesus," Babs put her hands up in surrender as if she was dealing with an cornered animal. "Next time I won't worry about you. My bad."

Dick looked away for a moment, seeming to realise that he had overreacted slightly. "Sorry," he murmured. He slouched back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair, and for the first time, Barbara noticed just how tired he looked. He skin was paler than usual and his eyes were bloodshot as if he hadn't slept in days. Considering that she now knew that he usually spent his nights as Robin without looking half so tired (and she also knew just exhausting patrol could be) she wondered what could possibly make him appear so worn out.

She almost felt sympathetic enough to forgive him. But then she remembered that she had every right to be mad at him. "What bat got stuck in your belfry?" she asked, deciding to hit the middle ground and hide her concern with sarcasm.

"It's nothing," Dick said off-handedly, still not looking up from the damn textbook. He must have felt Barbara's disbelieving stare because he decided to elaborate slightly. "Just a little stressed. Pop quiz next period."

Babs knew that Dick could pass the silly test standing on his head (in fact, he might do better that way) so she didn't believe him for a second. "You've been looking at the same page for the last twenty minutes."

"Then I'll know this page really well," he retorted shortly. As if to prove a point, he turned the page and recommenced staring unseeingly at the new material.

He was making it very difficult not to get annoyed with him. But at the same time, Dick wasn't usually this stand-offish. Something had really thrown him for a spin, and even if they weren't on the best terms, it was her duty as best friend to get the story out of him. "Okay, seriously Dick, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

A strange expression crossed the Teen Wonder's face, but as he avoided meeting her eyes she couldn't read it properly. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing's happened. I'm _fine._ " Dick answered, his voice low and close to Batman's threatening timbre as his hands clenched into fists on the desk.

Finally, he looked up at her. Babs raised an eyebrow. Dick looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Barbara knew Dick well enough to know that that was as close to winning the battle as she was ever going to get. If Dick didn't want to talk about something, there were very few people that could make him. Alfred being one of them. Maybe she should sic the Bat Butler on the Teen Wonder?

"Okay, fine," Babs surrendered reluctantly. She glanced back down at her laptop and clicked a new window so that a technical blueprint filled the screen. She turned the computer around for Dick's benefit. "What do you make of this tech?"

Dick glanced up. "Remote radio control, chemical stimulant dispenser..." He automatically identified before he realised what he was looking at. "This is the Hatter tech. You're still on the investigation?"

"Wow, you _really_ haven't been listening."

"Those blueprints were uploaded on the computer last night," Dick ignored her comment. "How did you get a hold of this?"

Barbara smiled slyly. "I might have left myself a back door through your firewall when Batman let me on the computer." Dick glared at her, the look close enough to the batglare to make her smugness falter slightly. "Don't worry, I only looked into this case."

"Batman told you to leave it alone," Dick reiterated.

Barbara rolled her eyes. "I know. Don't know if _you_ were listening yesterday, but I also told you that that wasn't going to happen." She paused and sighed. "Okay, I hear you when you say I'm untrained and my costume needs... _work_ , but that could be easily fixed if you guys would just give me a chance! But neither of you will even consider it! Not until I prove myself. So I will."

"Not with this case," Dick said. He leaned forward and grabbed her hand over the desk, making her jump in surprise. He was never really one for physical contact; and after their meeting in the cave she couldn't help the slight flush of her cheeks as he stared at her with those ridiculously blue eyes. "Pick another one and I'll help you. But _please,_ stay away from the Hatter."

"You'll... _help?"_ Barbara repeated, stunned. She had thought that Dick wanted her as far away from the Batcave as possible. But now he was giving her a way in? _No... wait._ That sly brat. He was offering her what she wanted so that she would do what _he_ wanted... "Why do you want me away from the Hatter?"

"You've done your research," Dick replied, chewing his lip slightly. He still had a hold of her hand. "You... you _know_ what the Hatter is..."

Babs ground her teeth. "I don't fit the victim profile," she retorted, pulling her hand away. "Try again."

Dick gave her a thoroughly confused look that was almost convincing. "What...? I'm not..."

"Just admit it, Dick," Barbara cut him off. "You're not worried about me. You're jealous. You want me to leave the Hatter alone because you know it will make Batman realise that I'm good. That maybe I could be as good as you. Stop trying to play me, Dick. I'm not dumb enough to fall for it."

"I... I wasn't..." Dick tried. "There's another player. You don't understand..."

"Whatever," Barbara huffed as she packed up her stuff and slung her bag over her shoulder. She wasn't going to stick around and be manipulated by someone who she thought was her best friend. "Maybe once you've accepted Batgirl we can be friends again. Until then, we're over."

* * *

"...be wary of your surroundings and never travel anywhere alone," Principal Pritchard explained to the entirety of Happy Harbour's student body and faculty from where he stood on the stage. Behind him were two uniformed police officers and several members of the school board; as well as a huge screen announcing in large letters STRANGER DANGER. "This is a serious threat that the police are focusing all their attention on, but each and every one of us can take steps to reduce the risk of an attack..."

Dr Grantes rolled his eyes and subtly exited the auditorium. He had already stood and smiled for the point in the speech where Pritchard directed any concerned students towards the counsellor. His cover was secure. For now.

He slipped through the silent corridors and returned to his office to find Bane waiting for him. How the large man avoided being sighted Grantes had no idea, but he was grateful for the man's apparent stealth. It was hard enough keeping Tetch hidden with his _playthings_ without having to worry about the Mexican as well.

"A police investigation could be troublesome, _Profesor,"_ Bane pointed out by way of greeting. "I thought you were handling the Martian."

Grantes scowled. "I was going to invite her for a session and wipe her memory, but it would look too suspicious to act now. Be glad that she only informed the police and not the League."

" _En efecto_ ," Bane grunted his agreement. "Will we be needing a scapegoat?"

"We will be long gone before that would be necessary," Grantes replied as he took his seat. "What did Tetch think of our plan to get him the damn archer?"

" _Hombrecillo patético,"_ Bane spat. Grantes' Spanish was a little rusty, but he agreed with the sentiment. "He said it was... adequate. The Titans impressed him though."

"He will complete the devices?"

Bane grinned. "He required _extra_ motivation, but _sí,_ he will. We should be ready by Friday as planned."

"Excellent," Grantes replied, reclining in his seat as the promise of imminent success soothed the tension from his shoulders. It would all be worth it soon. Working with Bane, alligning himself with the Hatter... it would all pay off. "Have you located the archer?"

" _Sí,_ " Bane nodded. "The Titans will be ready to move on Friday as well. While you prepare for the assault I will collect her. What of the Martian and her friends?"

Grantes grinned "They will all fall in line along with everyone else."

* * *

It was oddly quiet in the Cave. The low murmur of the television and the occasional clang of pots and pans from the kitchen were the only sounds that disrupted what should have been a comfortable silence. But for Wally, it just felt like the calm before the storm.

He didn't know why he felt so edgy. He was slouched on the green couch with Artemis leaning half-asleep against his chest. Kaldur was still in Atlantis for some mysterious reason and Zatanna had vanished to her room the moment that she had got in from school. M'gann and Connor were together in the kitchen behind him; actually talking as if they hadn't been avoiding each other for over a month. So basically, everything was chilled and relaxed and dinner was on the way.

_So why...?_

A low grunt sounded from the kitchen, and Wally glanced over the back of the sofa to see Connor looking curiously in the direction of the zeta tubes. "What is it?" the speedster asked.

"Rob's here," Connor replied. The feeling of not-rightness twisted a little tighter in Wally's stomach. Dick wasn't meant to be coming by the cave today. In fact he wasn't meant to be anywhere near the team until he had been re-cleared for training in order to minimise temptation. Connor seemed to be thinking the same thing as he cocked his head to one side and continued eavesdropping. "He's calling the British guy, telling him where he is. He sounds... off."

"Is he okay?" M'gann asked as she closed the fridge.

"I'll go find out," Wally answered. He gently pried Artemis off of where she was lightly dozing against him and then replaced himself with a cushion. She grumbled in her sleep but remained otherwise undisturbed as he stood and made his way towards the main cavern.

Dick was just hanging up on Alfred as Wally entered the room. He was still in his Gotham Academy uniform and his shades were nowhere to be seen, which was _beyond_ weird. Most of the team now knew who Robin was, but the Boy Wonder was still wary over protecting his civilian ID. "Hey, Rob," Wally greeted, pointedly looking at the distinctive uniform. "Zee's here. You might wanna..."

Dick glanced down, seeming to only just realise that he wasn't in his Robin civvies. And that just sealed the whole 'something is really wrong' vibe that Wally had been sensing. "Right," Dick agreed as he headed towards his room; either not noticing, or not caring, that Wally was following him.

Once inside and the door locked, Dick disappeared into his closet to find a change of clothes as Wally sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. "So... you came straight from school? I thought the Bat had rules about that?"

Wally heard the metallic jingle of a belt buckle as Dick pulled on his jeans, but no other response was made.

"Don't you have to play the 'rich kid being picked up by the butler' routine?" Wally pressed a little more. This time there was a light scoff, muffled by fabric as Dick yanked on a clean jumper. And then there came a heavy sigh as the bed tilted, telling Wally that Dick had just thrown himself on the neatly made blankets. He turned around to find the Boy Wonder lying on his back with an arm thrown over his eyes.

Wally raised an eyebrow at Dick's choice of attire. The usual black jeans were accompanied by the bright blue hoodie Kid Flash had bought for him last Christmas, the distinctive red shield emblazoned across the chest. "Okay, I'm gonna skip the whole 'are you alright' question because we both know how you're gonna answer," Wally said matter-of-factly. "What did Bruce do?"

Dick peeked out at Wally from under his arm. "What makes you ask that?"

"You only wear the Superman hoodie when you're trying to get a rise out of Bruce," Wally explained, remembering the hilarious expression on Batman's face when Robin had unwrapped the brightly coloured jumper last year. "So, what did Bruce do?"

"Nothing."

Wally didn't believe him for a second, but he knew that pestering Dick wouldn't get him anywhere other than annoying the Boy Wonder. So he decided to come at it from a different angle. The funky mood had started around the time that he had come back to the Cave on Saturday, so maybe that had something to do with it? "Have you and Zee spoken yet?"

"No," Dick mumbled, but Wally noticed that he also shifted slightly, as if he felt guilty about something. Bats were notoriously hard to read, but Wally had had years of practice. At least with reading Robin.

"But this _is_ about a girl?" he deduced. The sharp intake of breath was all the answer Wally needed. "You've met another girl _already?_ You _dog!"_

"What?! No!" Dick shot upright, his face turning bright red. It would have been funny just how flustered he was if it weren't for the fact that Wally knew that there was way more going on than girl trouble. "She's not... we're not _like_ that! She's my best friend – I mean, my best _civilian_ friend... well, she was... now she's... I don't know."

Dick flopped back down as Wally attempted to translate. "Wait... Babs? You and her are a thing now?"

"No," Dick grumbled. "She's Batgirl."

"Huh?"

Dick sighed, the simple exhale full of regret and guilt. "She was the one who discovered the Hatter activity in Gotham. She was investigating the case, working with Batman while I was benched, and I thought... I thought..."

"You thought she was replacing you," Wally finished. He could relate. He had known about Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson's best friend, and not been overly bothered; because he was both Robin _and_ Dick Grayson's best friend. But now he could feel his own pang of jealousy as he realised that Babs now held that same title. But with how insecure he knew Dick could be, he knew that the Boy Wonder would not have taken the intrusion as well as he was.

"I _was_ jealous," Dick admitted, emphasising the past tense. "I said some things that I shouldn't have to try and get her to quit, but then I found out that Bats had done the same thing. Now she's on a kick to prove herself and she's gonna get herself hurt and it's all my fault."

Wally reached out and rested a hand on Dick's arm. "It's not your fault. She chose to do this."

"Yeah, but I pushed her," Dick retorted. "She's obsessed with the Hatter case. I tried to get her to look into something else that we could work on together, but I... but I..." he closed his eyes and chewed his lip uncertainly. "I used a manipulation technique on her, without even realising."

"You're trained by the Bat..." Wally tried to excuse, but they both knew that the scary similarities between Batman and Robin freaked Dick the hell out. He didn't want to become as dark and controlling as the Bat, but neither of them could deny that sometimes he followed his mentor's example without really thinking.

"I just wanted her to drop the investigation," Dick muttered. "And now she hates me. She thought I was lying when I offered to help her. I'm worried that she's gonna get herself in trouble and not call me because she doesn't trust me."

Wally mulled the situation over for a moment. "Then you've gotta prove that _you_ trust _her._ She thinks that she has to prove herself, so you've got to show her that you already _do_ approve of her as Batgirl."

Dick stared at the ceiling as he considered Wally's wise advice. "I guess I could do that."

"And that is why you can always trust the Wallman for his expert help," Wally grinned, trying to ease the tension from his friend, while still knowing that Dick wasn't telling him everything, even though he had managed to get the Boy Wonder to open up. Perhaps it was time to go back to the elephant in the room. "So, you wanna tell me why you don't want to go home?"

Dick's walls slammed down so fast that Wally could see the change in his blue eyes. He rolled off of the bed and started collecting up his abandoned uniform to try and distract away from the conversation. But Wally wasn't having any of it. He stood up and grabbed Dick by the shoulders, halting him mid-action. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Its n-nothing," Dick wrenched himself out of Wally's grip, the slight hitch in his speech the only thing betraying his pain beneath the veneer of annoyance and anger. As he had spun away, Wally had just caught sight of tears forming in the corners of Dick's eyes. He had _never_ seen the Boy Wonder cry.

 _Ever_.

The complete novelty of the situation prompted Wally to react a bit more forcefully than he normally would. He used his super-speed to catch up to Dick, and then tripped the smaller boy so that they both tumbled to the floor. It was usually harder to set the acrobat off-balance, but the fact that he had hit the ground with even less grace than Wally did just served as further evidence that Dick really needed to talk about whatever had happened. And so it was Wally's duty as best friend to force it out of him.

" _Ow!_ Wally! What are you...?" Dick grumbled as he untangled himself from the dog pile that they had landed in and rubbed at his chest. He had ended up with his back in the corner between the bed and the cabinet beside it, with Wally in front of him and blocking his only exit. His face took on the expression of a cornered animal as he realised that he was well and truly trapped. "OTT much?"

"You'll just find a way to run away and avoid the subject," Wally shrugged, not feeling even a little bit guilty. "So just tell me what's going on with you and you can go."

Dick glared at him. "There's nothing going on."

Wally raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't going to work."

"Actually, it is," Wally replied smugly. "You hate feeling trapped and you will do _anything_ to get out of it. Including telling me what's wrong. So spill."

"This is entrapment."

"Just tell me."

Dick slouched back, his head hitting against the edge of the mattress as he tried to avoid Wally's expectant gaze. Even though he had recently had a growth spurt, Dick looked so small right then that Wally sat down beside him and drew him into a hug. He could feel just how tense the acrobat was as he rubbed comforting circles across his back. Dick didn't try to pull away or run, even though his escape route was now clear. In fact, he settled into the hug as if it was exactly what he needed. What could possibly make Dick this vulnerable?

"Bruce took in a new kid."

_Oh._

"He didn't even tell me," Dick continued quietly. "He just picked me up from school and introduced him like he expected me to be fine with it. The kid even looks like me. He's... do you think... is he...?"

"He's not replacing you," Wally answered firmly, trying to stop that train of thought before it got too deep under Dick's skin, but knowing that that's exactly what Dick had been panicking about ever since the kid had shown up. "Bruce would never do that. Ever," Wally insisted reassuringly. "Do you know why he took him in? What's the kid's story?"

Dick shrugged. "I don't know. I, uh... ran. But he looked like he was homeless and traumatised. I heard him crying last night."

"But you didn't go talk to him?" Wally asked. Dick shifted uncomfortably in the hug. "You know that it's not the kid's fault, right? You have every right to be mad at Bruce for blind-siding you like this, but it's not fair to take it out on the kid."

"I know," Dick nodded. "But I didn't trust myself not to make things worse. I... I want him _out._ I know that's cruel and selfish, but it's true. I don't want to go home until he's _gone._ "

"Dick..." Wally said, unable to mask the shock in his voice. Dick pulled out of the hug and stood, putting some distance between them as if he felt he didn't deserve Wally's offered comfort. The speedster couldn't believe what his best friend had just told him. Dick was one of the most selfless people he knew; constantly putting other people before himself. Was his jealousy and insecurity really so strong that he truly wanted to throw a fellow orphan back on the streets? "You don't mean that..."

Dick shrugged. "I know what I sound like," he murmured. "I just want things to be the way they were."

Wally stood as well, but didn't try to get any closer to the sullen acrobat. "That's not going to happen, Dick, and you're going to have to accept that. You can't just run away from the things that you don't like."

Dick took to studying the carpet. "Has the Wallman got any expert advice for this?"

"Go home, Dick," Wally replied. "And remember that _you_ were this kid once."

* * *

"The surface world is... _different_ to how I imagined," Garth said, eyeing the sushi bar they passed with distaste. The strong scent of raw fish and death had them all feeling ill, so Kaldur steered them away from the mall's food court and out into the main atrium.

"They do not share the same respect for sea life that we do," Kaldur admitted once they were what he deemed to be a safe distance away. Beside Garth, Tula had turned a paler shade of green than her eyes, her hands still wrapped around her stomach as if she might be imminently sick. "Perhaps it is best to cut this excursion short."

Garth and Tula shared a look, which Kaldur pretended didn't make his heart hurt just a little bit. He had accepted their relationship, but that did not mean that he was always comfortable with their closeness. "We said that we wanted to understand the surface world, the good and the bad," Garth pointed out. "We wish to see what it is we will be defending."

"Unless of course you are purposely showing us their less tasteful habits," Tula added knowingly.

Kaldur looked down at the patterned flooring to avoid eye contact with his friends; which essentially sealed his guilt. Now that Tula and Garth had completed their studies, they wanted to join Kaldur and King Orin in their fight on the surface world. But Kaldur wasn't sure that that was such a good idea. And so in his attempt to dissuade them from wanting to live up top, he had planned their tour to hit all the highlights of human depravity against the ocean.

He was planning to take them to Sea World next.

Tula glared at him, the stare powerful enough to burn even as he avoided her gaze. "Why do you not want us to join you on the surface world? Are we not good enough?"

"No, of course that is not the reason," Kaldur denied vehemently. "It is just... it is dangerous here."

"It is dangerous in Poseidonis," Garth retorted.

"I know, but..."

Tula stepped in front of Kaldur, halting him in his tracks. "We understand the risks, Kaldur. We take them gladly if it means to protect this world – this _whole_ world. The oceans and the lands. We wish to join your team and fight beside you."

Kaldur looked between the two of them, seeing their resolve and knowing that they would be harder to dissuade than he thought. "Fighting on the surface world is very different to what you have learnt in your studies."

"Then teach us," Garth replied.

"We are here to learn, Kaldur," Tula smiled. "King Orin has already permitted us to join the team, but it is not the same as your approval. Please, say you will allow us to fight beside you."

They both looked at him expectantly, and the many arguments that Kaldur had in favour of them returning to Atlantis stuck in his throat. Part of the reason he did not want them to join the team was because he was not certain that he could work with them... _together._ It was one thing to know that they loved each other, it was another thing entirely to witness it on a daily basis. What if it affected his decision making? His ability to lead? What if the pang of regret in his chest grew into something more – something that he couldn't ignore?

"Please, Kaldur," Tula whispered, crumbling the last of his resolve.

"It would be my honour to fight beside you."

* * *

Dick had decided to bite the bullet and go home. Kind of.

After sitting through dinner with the team and Wally sending him pointed looks, he had finally decided to take the zeta tube back to Gotham. He had materialised in the Batcave with every intention of going upstairs into the manor and talking to the kid – or at the very least saying hi, like he should have done the day before. But the moment that he had taken one step onto the stairs, he had frozen.

He kept trying to tell himself that it wasn't the kid's fault – that he was mad at Bruce – mad at himself for being such a coward – but it wasn't working.

And so he had decided to distract himself with a problem that he _could_ fix. Wally had been right about Barbara. Dick remembered the couple of times when Bruce had tried to take Robin away from him; how he had felt undeserving and useless, how he had wanted to do _anything_ to prove himself. How stupid risks suddenly didn't seem so reckless if it would make Batman see his worth.

He had to stop Barbara from getting herself hurt; and the best way to do that wasn't to take Batgirl away. It was to make her see that he accepted her.

Laid out on the table before him was the beginnings of what would become the new improved Batgirl uniform. He had always been good at designing the costumes (though he would never admit that to Wally, lest he be teased) and he wasn't half bad at making them either. Ideally, he would ask for Alfred's assistance, but that meant going up into the manor – and the high probability of running into the kid.

At least in the cave there was absolutely no chance of that happening.

Or so he thought.

"What'cha doing?" a high voice asked from the archway into the workshop. Dick very nearly dropped the wrist computer that he was currently trying to fit into the gauntlet, as he spun to glare at the intruder. The kid just stood there, his hands buried in the pockets of the red hoodie that was pulled over Dick's old Superman pyjamas.

"What are you doing down here?!" Dick yelped, already trying to come up with a plausible explanation for the existence of the Batcave under Wayne Manor.

The kid shrugged. "Bruce didn't say I couldn't come down."

"But... _how_ are you down _here._..?" Dick tried to fathom. The kid couldn't have found the door down to the cave this fast – it had taken Dick three days and he'd been _looking_ for it.

"Oh _that_ ," the kid grinned. "Yeah, I know all about Bruce being Batman. And the Batcave. And the Batmobile... which really needs a new Bat-security system. Way too easy to jack those Bat-tyres."

Dick blinked, his brain completely overloaded. This _was_ the kid that stole the tyres? Bruce really _had_ adopted him _that_ fast? _And_ told him the huge _secret?_ And the kid was already taking the piss out of the Bat-prefix? _Holy aneurysm Batman!_

"So..." the kid asked after the awkward moment of 'what the hell' continued a little too long for his liking. "What are you doing?"

"Err..." Dick muttered, not really paying attention. "I'm making a uniform for a friend."

"Cool!" the kid exclaimed. He came all the way into the alcove and jumped up on the stool on the other side of the workbench so that he could get a better look. He took in the Bat-symbol and the distinctly feminine cut of the uniform and smirked. "There's a _Batgirl_? That's so awesome! Do you reckon I'll get a codename too?!"

_No. Never. Not in a million years._

Dick forcibly swallowed back any and all biting remarks and tried to keep his voice neutral. "You're a little young."

" _Pfft_ , that's a stupid excuse. Robin was like _six_ when he started and I'm way more awesome than him," the kid retorted, and then seemed to realise something monumental. "Wait... are _you_ Robin?"

Dick resisted the urge to facepalm. Just.

"Nah, you can't be," the kid decided. "Robin is so much cooler than you. You're all weedy looking. I bet a strong breeze would knock you over. No way you could even take out _the_ _Riddler_ let alone anyone else!"

"I _am_ Robin." Dick ground out between gritted teeth.

The kid studied him through squinted eyes. "For real? Word on the street is that Robin's dead cause he's been missing so long. Did you quit or something?"

It was getting increasingly difficult not to reach across the workbench and throttle the smaller boy. "I got shot. Twice."

"Well that was dumb," the kid scoffed. "Why would you do something stupid like that?!"

"I didn't mean to get..." Dick started to defend himself before just sighing. "Whatever. Look, kid, I'm trying really hard to not... uh..." _'Hate you' is way too harsh..._ "...But you're a little... um... _" 'Irritating'..._ _"_ It's late. Shouldn't you be in bed or something?"

The kid deflated instantly. "I guess."

Guilt hit Dick like a pile of bricks as he recognised the expression on the kid's face. He feared rejection just as much as Dick did; his over-eagerness and runner mouth the same tactic that he used to use before Bruce made it clear that he accepted Dick as his son.

_You were this kid once._

"Hey, kid... I didn't mean..." he tried, but he knew that the kid's walls were already up.

"Whatever, Dickface," the kid snapped. "I know that nobody wants me. I'm only hanging around until Bruce sees sense and drops me back where he found me. I'm just stocking up on food and stuff. You won't have to put up with me for long. Laters, Big Bird."

Dick watched the kid run off, his body language screaming his sadness even as he tried to mask it with anger and indifference. His words had hit home, making Dick feel even worse as he remembered his own reaction to Bruce initially taking him in – everyday waiting for the moment when his new guardian would change his mind and send him back.

Dick dropped his head onto the desk with a loud thump.

_I'm such a jerk._


	9. Part Nine

**Part Nine**

"Good afternoon, Zatanna," Dr Grantes said soothingly. "Are you comfortable?"

The witch nodded, already slouching back against the sofa with her eyelids drooping. She was becoming so susceptible to his suggestions that, given more time, the psychiatrist would be able to have her at his beckon call with a simple trigger word. As it was, this would be their last session. Tomorrow, Zatanna would be dead.

All of the Justice League and their meddling brats would be dead.

Grantes had to forcibly push the excitement out of his voice in order to preserve the trance that he had enticed the witch into. Everything had to stay calm and relaxed. He was a day away from his ultimate success – he would not mess it up now.

"Let go of all the burdens that restrain you," Grantes instructed. "Duty, loyalty, _friendship_. It means nothing. Nothing holds you back. Enjoy the relief of the freedom from the morality that ties you down. Do you feel free, Zatanna?"

"Yes, Doctor," Zatanna replied obediently.

 _Excellent._ Grantes propped his elbows on his desk and peered over his steepled fingertips. Everything was falling into place perfectly. "What more has the League learned about my operation?"

"Nothing," Zatanna answered. "Superman and Flash are trying to track down Bane but have been unable to find him. Batman has made the connection between the Mad Hatter's victims, but he has not narrowed this location down further than the state of Rhode Island. They are unaware of your involvement or your true identity, Doctor."

"Does Batman suspect that the proximity to Mt. Justice is relevant?" Grantes prompted eagerly. To play the Bat at his own game, to lead on the so-called _'World's Greatest Detective'_ with a misdirect as simple as this – it would make vengeance all the more sweeter. "Does he believe that the mountain base is the target?"

Zatanna wrinkled her brow in confusion as her entranced mind struggled to answer as commanded. "I don't know."

"Nevermind," Grantes waved off. "You're just not as reliably informed as I had hoped. Perhaps you have been able to gather the other intelligence that I was after? What of the Hall of Justice?"

"The Hall of Justice operates a top of the line security system provided by Wayne Tech Enterprises," Zatanna recited, as if she had learned the information from a tour or a pamphlet. "The security in the main areas accessible by tourists is disabled during opening hours, creating a weakness in the system. Overriding access to off-limit areas is possible at this time."

Grantes nodded. "Excellent. Did you plant the virus in the League's computer network?"

Zatanna's eyelids fluttered as she shifted uncomfortably. A concerned frown marred her features as if she was beginning to realise that something was wrong. A small part of her mind was just starting to fight the suggestion – if Grantes wasn't careful he could lose her as an asset; and he had plans for the witch yet. "It doesn't matter," he assured her quickly, soothing her apprehension. "Do you feel free, Zatanna?"

"Yes, Doctor."

The fidgeting ceased, the witch's brief rebellion effectively squashed. He couldn't have her realising all of the secrets that she had told him or alerting the League that her school counsellor was a villain. Even though she hadn't planted the computer virus as instructed, he was confidant that his plan would work.

There was just one part missing.

In a former life, Dr Grantes had once been a doctor at the infamous Arkham Asylum. Before Batman and his colourful friends had formed their super social club, the Dark Knight had been a considerable thorn in Grantes side, thwarting several of the psychiatrists best laid plans, and forcing him to burn one of his favourite aliases.

Revenge against the Justice League as a whole was satisfactory – but personal vengeance against the Bat? _Priceless._

"So, Zatanna," Dr Grantes said conversationally, knowing that he would have to keep things natural in order to preserve the waning illusion now that she had begun to break through. "How are things between you and your boyfriend Rob?"

"We haven't spoken," the witch replied sadly. "He is avoiding me again."

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Dr Grantes smiled. "It was the secrets between the two of you that drove you apart, don't you agree, Zatanna?"

"Yes Doctor."

Grantes' grin widened. "Then the solution is simple! You must make him tell you all of the things that he has been keeping from you. Put an end to his secrets and get him to show you his true self beneath the disguise."

Zatanna chewed her lip nervously. "But what if he won't tell me?"

"Then you should bring him here," Grantes suggested, very much liking the idea. How better to torture the Bat than to have his precious Robin turned against him? "I should like to meet the boy that broke your heart; give him a stern talking to. Would you like that Zatanna? Would that make you feel free?"

"Yes Doctor."

And the final piece falls into place.

* * *

His patron's dojo was brighter this time around, but still Bane could not see her clearly. Just the outline of her graceful curves and the sheen of her dark hair caught the sunlight that streamed through the windows. It was as if the shadows themselves clung to her, even though he knew that it was purely skill that kept her concealed within them. "Hello, Bane," she greeted cordially, far more politely that most other people he had worked with.

" _Buenos días, mi señoría,"_ Bane bowed.

"How are the Doctor and Tetch?" his patron asked. "Still bumbling along with their petty plans?"

Bane nodded. _"Sí, mi señoría._ I have convinced Tetch that I will get him the archer tomorrow while they prepare to launch their attack on the Hall of Justice."

His patron laughed softly, the musical sound echoing around the vacant dojo. "No one can say that the fools don't dream big." The laugh turned into a calculating smile. "Theatrics aside, the basis of their plan does hold merit. Has Tetch finished the devices?"

"Almost, _mi señoría,"_ Bane replied, his irritation clear in his accented tone. "He stalls, but I have convinced him that it is in his best interest to finish on time. I will procure one for you before I take the Titans to retrieve the archer."

His patron leaned back slightly where she sat upon her cushion throne, throwing the dojo into contemplative silence. "Acquiring Artemis is no longer a necessity for encouraging Tetch," she pointed out. "So why are you still planning to capture her?"

Bane shifted slightly, the only outward sign of his embarrassment. "I was intending to collect the archer for you, _mi señoría._ You have shown interest in her before, I thought..."

"These Titans," his patron interrupted, thankfully saving him from trying to explain his attempt to impress her. But then he realised that he shouldn't have been trying to do so in the first place. He was a villain in his own right – not some faceless goon! How could this woman, his patron, hold so much power over him as to make him feel so low on the food chain that he would devolve into the hired help?! "Are they impressive?"

" _Sí, mi señoría,"_ Bane answered, burying the growing resentment until it could be used for more productive means. "They would easily tear through Mt. Justice's meagre defences."

"Or provide a challenge," his patron countered.

" _Lo siento, mi señoría_ , I do not follow," Bane admitted. "You wish to test your skill against the Titans?"

His patron laughed again. " _That_ would not be a challenge. How many Titans do you have at your disposal?"

"Four, _mi señoría."_

"Perfect," his patron grinned. "I think that we should send them to Gotham, as a gift."

* * *

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Zee?" Artemis asked for what had to be the one thousandth time. "Robin won't respond well to an ambush."

Zatanna glared at the archer. "This isn't an ambush!" she defended, though technically, she had to admit that it kinda was. She had asked Artemis to text Robin so that he would come to the mountain, (knowing full well that he wouldn't have if _she_ had texted him) and now they were waiting expectantly by the zeta tubes for the Boy Wonder to appear. "I just want to talk to him."

"This is a little extreme though, don't you think?" Artemis pointed out.

"You haven't been ignored for six months," Zee grumbled. "This is the only way to get him to talk to me. Unless of course you want me to turn him into a rabbit again."

"That would be awesome because I missed it the first time, but no," Artemis replied sarcastically. "I think you two have enough issues as it is." The archer shifted nervously, clearly not comfortable with her role in the plan. "I can't believe that I agreed to be complicit in this. Couldn't you have found someone else to bait your trap?"

Zatanna raised an eyebrow. "You hung up on me right before you were attacked by the Mad Hatter and left me worrying about you for over four hours. Sending a text is hardly a terrible price to pay."

"Yeah..." Artemis murmured guiltily. "But I'm not sure that having a pissed of Boy Blunder pranking me for the foreseeable future is really a fair punishment. I did say that I was sorry..."

_Recognised: Robin B01_

"...and that's my cue to run," Artemis announced before the light had even faded. Zatanna rolled her eyes after the archer, before squaring her shoulders and facing the zeta tubes head on.

She saw the shades first, and was hit with the almost irresistible urge to rip them off his face. She actually had to forcibly restrain herself to not act upon the tempting impulse. But then she saw the rest of him – the slight slump of his shoulders and the downward tilt to his lips telling her that he felt guilty, and that he had walked into this blatant trap willingly.

"Hi Zee," he greeted quietly. He sounded so apologetic that she couldn't figure out where her initial burst of anger had come from. Maybe there really was a chance that they could talk this out.

"Hey Rob," she answered, shuffling her feet awkwardly. "Can we talk?"

Robin nodded. "I think we should."

Without discussing it, they both automatically headed towards the library, which had been their hangout place while they had still been properly together. It was one of the least used rooms in the entire mountain – Zee hadn't even known that they had a library until Robin had told her about the day of the Red attack and the secret passageway behind one of the bookcases.

Robin shut the door behind them as they kind of hovered around each other. "So... uh... I guess I should apo..."

"I'm sorry I turned you into a rabbit!" Zatanna blurted. "I don't know what I was thinking! It had been so long and I just wanted you to talk to me; but I guess I should have just realised the obvious truth."

"The... truth?" Robin asked, his eyebrows furrowing behind those damn shades.

"We've been over for a long time, Robin," Zatanna admitted quietly. "I think that its about time that we both see it."

"You're breaking up... with _me?"_ he asked in confusion.

Zatanna nodded. "I'm breaking up with Robin," she confirmed. Robin's face blanched as he realised just where she was going with this conversation, his eyes instinctively flicking towards the exit. "But maybe me and the _real_ you still have a chance."

"Zee..."

"No, listen," Zatanna insisted, purposely putting herself between him and the door. "There were too many secrets between us, Robin – that's why we didn't work out. Maybe we could try again, _without_ the lies. Please Robin, let me in."

Robin backed up, trying to draw her away from the door, but she recognised the manoeuvre and stayed put. "I wish I could tell you Zee, I really do," he tried to explain. "But its not just my secret to tell. I can't just tell anyone, Batman will..."

"Do you really have to ask Batman first?" Zee scoffed. "How are you ever going to have a normal relationship if you have to ask your Dad for permission before you can even tell a girl your name? That's one way to become a forty-year old virgin."

"That's probably Batman's master plan," Robin surmised sardonically, before sobering. "But I still can't tell you, okay? I'm sorry. Why is it so important to you anyway?"

Zatanna glared at him. _"Why...?_ Why is it so important for me to know my boyfriend's real name? Isn't it obvious?! I _love_ you Robin! And I want to love _all_ of you!"

All the colour drained from Robin's face as the weight of the 'L' word hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked shell-shocked – as if that declaration was the complete opposite of how he expected this conversation to go. "I... I thought we were breaking up..."

"I don't _want_ to," Zee whispered. "But I thought we had to. I thought that it was the only way to make you see how much I want you."

"I can't tell you my real name, Zee."

Zatanna chewed her lip as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "Then I guess..." she sniffled, stifling a sob. "I guess we're truly... over."

"Uh... yeah..." Robin muttered.

"I don't want to be alone," Zee whispered, one tear breaking free and streaming down her cheek. Robin went rigid as he realised that she was crying and that he had no idea what to do. "It's nearly Christmas... without my Dad... without _you_... I don't want us to be over, Robin. Isn't there some way for us to – can't we start again?"

"I can't tell you, Zee," Robin repeated, that one phrase the only thing that he seemed certain of.

"Then don't," Zatanna sniffed, defeated. "But can't we try again anyway? As Robin and Zee? We both have free periods after lunch tomorrow, right? Can you come by my school? We could go out for a little while, just the two of us...?"

Robin studied her, taking in her tears and her loneliness and not really knowing what else he could possibly say. "Maybe."

Zatanna smiled broadly. Finally she felt free.

* * *

It was early evening by the time that Dick left Mt Justice and took the zeta tube back to Gotham. He was taking a gamble, coming home before it was guaranteed that Batman had started his night shift, but he had stuff to prepare that was worth the risk. Besides, maybe a day of ignoring him would be enough to make Bruce realise that the whole 'new kid' thing had not been his finest moment.

"So you decided to come home then."

Batman's growl echoed around the cave, making Dick freeze in his tracks. Perhaps he should have waited a little longer before coming home after all. He'd had enough awkward conversations for one day without a talk from the Batman as well.

"Alfred went to the school to pick you up; both today and yesterday," Batman said. Dick still couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from. Knowing Bruce, it was probably an automated recording so that he could go out as Batman _and_ get in a lecture. A holographic projection of the Dark Knight would probably materialise any second and scowl disapprovingly at him. "He was left waiting by the curb for you to show. Do you realise how suspicious that looks?"

"I told Alfie I was going to the cave," Dick grumbled as he took off his shades and ditched his bag.

"To meet Zatanna?" Batman inquired. Finally he appeared, disproving Dick's theory that he was a recording, which oddly enough didn't make him feel any better. He could ignore a hologram. The real Dark Knight however? Not so easy to dodge. "Are the two of you still having issues?"

 _He knows?!_ Dick yelled internally. _Well duh._ _Of_ course _he knows. He's Batman._

"It's sorted," he lied. The whole Zatanna issue was _far_ from sorted. He had agreed to meet up with her so that he could officially end things – he hadn't expected her to turn things around and guilt trip him into semi-agreeing to a date. But that was besides the current point.

Batman studied him from where he had materialised beside the Batmobile, as if Dick was a problem that he couldn't solve. "Is this about Barbara Gordon being Batgirl?"

Dick rolled his eyes. Did Bruce really not know why the Boy Wonder was avoiding him? It seemed fairly obvious to him – it was living across the hall from him after all – but apparently Bruce didn't see the new kid as a potential issue. Admittedly, the whole Batgirl thing _had_ bugged him, and it seemed that Bruce had at the very least picked up on the jealousy that Dick had directed towards her – and yet he had missed the glaringly obvious animosity towards the new kid?

Or maybe Bruce just didn't want to see it.

"No," Dick answered shortly. He headed towards the small workshop alcove that he had spent most of the night before in and collected up an inconspicuous backpack. Batman made no move to follow, but Dick could feel him tracking his movements with his eyes, trying to figure Dick out.

"Then why are you avoiding the Manor?" Batman asked.

Dick threw his guardian a look. "I don't know, Bruce. Maybe I should _show you."_

Batman looked away. "I thought that you would understand."

"Understand _what?"_ Dick snapped back. He couldn't believe that Bruce thought that he would honestly be okay with the sudden introduction of the new kid. "The fact that you picked up another stray without even asking me? Or that he was already waiting in the living room when I got home from school?"

"I thought that you would understand why I took Jason in," Batman elaborated, pulling down his cowl so that Dick could see his face. But Dick wasn't looking at him. He made his way over to the R-cycle where he had stashed an emergency go-bag, just in case he ever needed his Robin-suit without Bruce knowing. Hey, he was trained to always be prepared for every situation – including making a quick getaway from his guardian. "He's an orphan, Dick. His father died in prison and he found his mother after she had OD'd on the kitchen floor..."

"I don't need his sob story, Bruce," Dick cut him off. "He's had a tough life, I get it. We all have. But that's not exactly going to endear me to my _replacement."_

Bruce blinked as he finally realised why Dick was so pissed off at him, but Dick ignored him as he straddled his bike and activated the door release. "He's not your replacement, Dick," Bruce tried to explain. "I would never do that..."

Dick revved the engine, drowning out the last of what Bruce was trying to say.

"Whatever."

* * *

Batgirl must have been out of her mind, because even though she and the Teen Wonder were _not_ on speaking terms, she had still answered his text to meet him on the rooftop of the old cinema on 7th Avenue.

Maybe it was because her Thursday night patrol had been so quiet, or maybe she really was a glutton for emotional punishment and eager for another round with him. Whatever it was though, it didn't matter, because her heart still did a little tap dance the that moment she saw him.

 _Stop it!_ She told her traitorous hormones. _We're mad at him – remember?!_

But it was very hard to when he was standing on a rooftop before the dramatic background of Gotham City; the wind blowing at his hair and cape and the night air charged as if at any moment her life would turn into a musical. He was dressed as Robin, the tight black and red armoured suit leaving very little to the imagination. His hair was mussed and his domino mask was in place – and Batgirl had to admit that Dick was right. The masks really did hold power over them. She found herself checking him out even as a small voice in her head screamed that this was her best friend _Dick Grayson._

_Not hot. Not hot. Not hot._

He turned as she approached, mostly likely having waited a moment or so from when he had first noticed her presence to make her feel good about being able to sneak up on him. "Hey BG," he greeted.

"What do you want?" Batgirl asked, forgoing formalities in favour of reminding him that they were not supposed to be talking to each other. "If this is another lecture you can forget it."

"It's not," Robin assured her. "Trust me, I've learned my lesson. This... this is an apology."

Batgirl raised an eyebrow, though it probably didn't show very well through the thick balaclava-cowl. "You're going to admit that you were wrong?"

Robin winced as if that concept physically hurt him. _Men_ , Batgirl thought with a roll of her eyes. Too stubborn to own up to their mistakes.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Robin replied, surprising her. "I was wrong to try and tell you what to do. You're beyond smart enough to make your own choices. I shouldn't have even tried to tell you not to be Batgirl, and I'm sorry."

Batgirl blinked, completely stunned by the Teen Wonder's sudden 180. Just yesterday he was trying to manipulate her into dropping the Hatter investigation, and now he was apologising? It had to be a trick or something. A misdirect so that she wouldn't notice something else... Right...?

Robin seemed to read her disbelief and sighed guiltily. "I know that I reacted badly, but things have been... well, a lot's happened and... I really am sorry."

Batgirl considered him for a moment, trying to find the deception and seeing nothing but honesty. He had been acting out of sorts for a while now, maybe this whole thing had been a one-off. They had been friends for so long now that she was pretty confident that she knew him; even if she had only just discovered this whole other side of him. But how different could Robin and Dick Grayson really be from each other?

"Well, um... okay then," Robin said awkwardly, and Batgirl realised that she hadn't actually said anything in response to his apology. He shifted slightly, and she noticed for the first time the black backpack resting on the rooftop beside him.

"What's that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Oh this?" Dick grinned as he picked up the bag as if he had only just noticed it as well. "This is my olive branch."

He held out the proffered gift, and Batgirl let curiosity win out. She closed the distance between them and took the backpack, realising that it was almost identical to the one that she used for school. Intrigued, she unzipped the main compartment and gasped. "Is this...?"

Robin just smiled in that adorable way of his, blowing away any remaining cobwebs of tension between them. She held in her hand a brand new – way more high tech – Batgirl cowl. Another peek into the bag revealed a whole new, properly armoured uniform, the shimmer of her very own cape catching the glow of the street lamps. "This is... _amazing..."_

"It gets better," Robin smirked. He leaned forward, his hand brushing hers as he undid a hidden catch on the strap, the unmistakable glint of gold making her heart skip a beat in excitement. Concealed into a built-in compartment was _the_ tool of the Bat trade – a utility belt of a unique design just for her.

Batgirl was understandably speechless.

"You were right when you said that the costume and the training were easy fixes if we would just give you a chance," Robin said as she admired her new toys. "So I thought that we'd start with the uniform and then, if you'd like, we could start some training."

Batgirl would point blank deny it later, but she actually teared up a little as she was finally accepted by Robin. "I'd love that."

They will still standing close to each other, which Batgirl abruptly noticed, her cheeks flushing. Robin seemed to realise the same thing as he turned the same colour as his uniform, but neither of them made a move to expand the distance.

If anything, they seemed to get closer.

Their noses were nearly touching – it would take so very little effort to bridge the tiny gap between them. They were a hairsbreadth away from a kiss when Batgirl sensed a sudden change in Robin's stance. He pulled away minutely, but it was enough for her to realise that it wasn't the right time.

She dropped off of her tiptoes and smiled like they hadn't just had a first kiss fail. She held up her new cowl with pride. "So it's official then? I can be Batgirl?"

"I can't speak for Batman," Robin shrugged. "But as far as I'm concerned; we're partners."

"Awesome."

Police sirens cut through the night, both of them instinctively turning to investigate like meerkats on the Serengeti. Judging by the squealing of tyres and gunfire blasts making its way along Main Street, a police chase was in progress – the perfect opportunity for her to test her new grapple gun.

"So partner," she said invitingly. "Want to go catch criminals with me?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "That depends entirely on how fast you can change into your new gear," he taunted. "I'll meet you on the corner of Moench and 9th – if you can keep up."

And with that the Teen Wonder stepped off of the roof and swung off after the phalanx of police cruisers. Batgirl chewed her lip as she watched him go, rolling her eyes as his cackle echoed back to her.

_I could get used to this_

_._

* * *

The freezing cold of the brick wall that Zatanna had chosen to sit on seeped through her jeans and made her whole body shiver, but she refused to move. She just huddled a little deeper into her coat and watched the puffs of vapour that formed as her warm breath hit the winter air.

Lunchtime had been and gone, and there was no sign of Robin.

Ever since their talk the night before she had been excited by the fact that they were possibly dating again with a fresh start. He hadn't outright said no, after all. But that hope had been painfully crushed. He had stood her up.

Part of her; a very, very small part of her that was hard to hear over the sadness and disappointment, understood. She replayed their conversation, over and over again, realising with growing embarrassment just how clingy she had been. She had told him that she _loved_ him – but was that really true? Yes, she wanted them to get back together; but why had she gone to _that_ extreme?

Perhaps it was a good thing that Robin hadn't showed.

 _No it isn't!_ A voice inside her insisted. _I have to know!_

Zatanna chewed her lip as she tried to figure out her conflicted feelings. She had admittedly always been curious as to who Robin really was behind the shades, but since when was she this desperate to know? And why did she feel like she was disappointing someone by not finding out?

"Zatanna?" a voice called from behind her, making her turn at the sudden interruption to her musings. She smiled when she saw Dr Grantes walking down the main steps towards her. "Did Rob not show?"

"No," Zatanna sniffed. An odd expression crossed the psychiatrist's face, as if he was irritated, but it was gone before she had a real chance to analyse it, replaced with a sympathetic smile. She felt as if she should apologise, but she didn't know if it was because she was in such a state, or because of the subconscious sense that she had somehow let him down. But before she had a chance to follow that train of thought, Dr Grantes was standing before her.

"Isn't your free period coming to an end now?" he asked, and a wave of calm washed over her, stopping her tears before they could fall and making her forget why she was so upset in the first place.

"Yes, Doctor," she replied automatically.

Dr Grantes smiled broadly. "Why don't you run along and join your team mates? It's almost time to begin, and we don't want you missing your part now, do we?"

"No, Doctor."

"Good, good," Dr Grantes grinned. "It's time for the fireworks to start."


	10. Part Ten

**Part Ten**

It was the final period on a Friday; and it was dragging, _big time_. Mr Carr was trying to make Civics interesting, but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. At that point, not a single person cared about the impact of Scottish Independence on the UK; including Mr Carr.

M'gann sighed and leaned back in her seat, staring at the clock at the front of the classroom and silently willing it to go faster. To her right, Connor was staring straight ahead blankly, the same way that he did when he watched the static on the cave TV. On her left, Zatanna appeared to be paying rapt attention, but there was something... _off_ about her.

 _'Hey, are you okay?'_ M'gann asked telepathically, making Zee jump as if she had been shocked. Connor looked over at them curiously, quickly recognising a mind link conversation, but M'gann gestured for him to give them a moment. _'Girl talk,'_ she sent to him, before cutting him off and focusing on Zee. _'How did it go with Robin?'_

 _'He didn't show,'_ Zatanna replied, but there was something weird about her mental voice. She sounded flat and despondent, which M'gann guessed kinda made sense considering what Zee had just said – but it still didn't feel right.

 _'I'm sorry, Zee,'_ M'gann said sympathetically, but the other girl barely reacted. She must have been taking the rejection really badly. M'gann still didn't know what had happened between the two of them, but it was obviously serious. Maybe it was best that they just ended their relationship, even if they had once seemed so cute together. _'Do you want to talk about it?'_

Zee sent her a look that rivalled Robin's batglare. A high-pitched noise accompanied the look, like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. M'gann quickly shut down the link to stop the sharp pain. _That's never happened before..._ she thought worriedly, studying Zee as the dark haired girl returned to staring at Mr Carr. It was as if there was something interfering with the mind link – or someone else connected to Zatanna...

M'gann immediately turned to Connor, ignorant of how strange she might look to her classmates. _'There's something wrong with Zee.'_

 _'What?'_ Connor asked, but he was mostly drowned out by the loud _bong, bong bong_ of the school's PA system.

" _Good afternoon, students,"_ an oddly familiar voice greeted over the tannoy. Beneath the static and echoes of the speakers throughout the school there was a low hissing noise that M'gann couldn't place. _"This is Dr Grantes, your school counsellor, or so I have had you all believe. This is an announcement to thank you all for taking part in what will be a glorious moment in World History. Not that you have any choice, of course."_

The sound was coming from the vents, an odourless gas billowing into the classroom. No one else seemed to notice as they were too caught up in trying to understand the odd speech, but M'gann and Connor shared a look. Something big and _very_ bad was going down – but what could they do? Right now they were normal high school students – no powers, no heroics...

Mr Carr had noticed the gas too and had stood up from behind his desk, though he looked unsteady on his feet. "The windows!" he ordered his befuddled students, but his instructions went mostly unheard. "Open the windows! Gas!"

M'gann could feel the effects of the gas even with her Martian physiology, the world beginning to tilt and sway around her as she struggled to breathe. She got up to comply with Mr Carr's instructions and nearly fell straight back down as vertigo hit. Connor grabbed her arm to keep her steady as all around them students began to drop like flies. Zatanna was still sitting in her seat, her head cushioned on her folded arms as if she had decided to take a nap.

Mr Carr collapsed, his head hitting the corner of a student's desk on his way down, but M'gann couldn't go to help him. She dropped to her knees a metre away from the windows; leaning back against Connor for support as he ended up falling down as well and slumping against a desk to stay semi-upright.

But they weren't unconscious. None of them were (except for Mr Carr of course). Whatever the gas was it wasn't a sedative. It left M'gann feeling slow and lethargic, as if her brain had been submersed in soup and expected to function normally. She could move too, but it took so much effort that she decided to just stay put and wait for whatever was coming next.

" _There is a group of... volunteers... on their way to your classrooms as I speak,"_ Dr Grantes continued gleefully, and M'gann struggled to try and identify where she recognised the voice from. _"They have a gift for each and every one of you. If you would all be so kind as to put them on, we can get this show started!"_

The classroom door slammed open and three people entered carrying cardboard boxes. They were dressed like UPS delivery people in brown and yellow suits with matching caps. They marched in time with each other, but their movements didn't appear robotic or unnatural. They lined up before the desks at the front of the classroom and put down their boxes. They then ripped them open, sending a shower packing peanuts everywhere.

M'gann watched curiously as the UPS guys each pulled out a pile of brightly coloured baseball caps and began making their way down the aisles between the desks. They stopped at each slumped student to sandwich a cap onto their heads, and she realised that they all had different Justice League member logos on them, like novelty items from a comic book store. _What in the world is this?_

One of the UPS guys crouched down beside them, pulling out a Green Lantern and and a Superman cap. M'gann felt Connor growl threateningly at the brown-suited man, but there wasn't a whole lot that he could do as the blue hat was firmly placed on his head. He blinked, but seemed otherwise unaffected. _'Connor, are you okay?'_

Connor didn't physically move as the UPS guy turned to her and approached with the emerald Green Lantern cap, but his mental voice was loud and alarmed as he yelled; _'M'gann, needle!'_

She didn't have a clue what he meant. Not until the cap was crammed over her red hair and she felt a sharp pinprick right above her left ear. Immediately, she shape-shifted around the needle so that she could telekinetically break it off before it pierced her skin. As the UPS guy moved on, M'gann glanced over at Connor who was watching her in concern. _'I'm okay,'_ she reassured him, giving him a small smile. _'You?'_

 _'The needle broke against my skin,'_ Connor answered. _'What about Zatanna?'_

M'gann looked up to find Zee sitting upright again, a Batman cap blending into her black hair. It was hard to tell the difference, what with the fact that the homo-magi had been acting weirdly before, but M'gann was pretty sure that Zee had fallen victim along with everyone else. M'gann briefly tried to re-establish a mind link with her, but she was met with what felt like a solid wall. She shook her head at Connor. _'I can't get through.'_

 _'What now?'_ Connor asked. The dulling effects of the gas left them with nothing more than a headache and dry mouth, which meant that they could now move – if they had anywhere to go, that is. The UPS guys had made it all the way to the back of the classroom, leaving thirty-odd wide-eyed and mesmerised students in their wake. _'This has got to be the Mad Hatter, right?'_

It was a pretty safe assumption, what with the hats and what looked like mind-control. But who was Dr Grantes? There was no way that he was the Hatter in disguise – the Gotham madman's stature was quite unique. Was Grantes the unknown third player? And why was his voice so familiar? _'We need to contact the League.'_

Connor nodded, and then glanced over at their bags, which were still beside their desks two rows over. Currently everyone in that room appeared to be in some kind of trance, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't notice two people clearly not following the same orders that they were. They couldn't give themselves away yet. _'I've got a communicator in the side pocket,'_ Connor said even as he kept up the act of mindless drone. _'Can you get it without being spotted?'_

M'gann nodded, though she wasn't 100% certain. The UPS guys were still hanging at the back of the room now that they had finished their task; and all the students appeared oblivious as they waited for their orders, giving her the only window that she was probably going to get.

Stretching out telekinetically, she undid the zip on the backpack, wincing as the sound seemed to echo loudly in the near-silence. She then imagined reaching into the pocket, her fingers automatically acting out the motion as she grasped the sleek communicator. She was just lifting it out past the lip of the pocket when the opening tune of the PA system made her loose her concentration. The small device hit the floor with loud clatter, but no one seemed to notice.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, places please!"_ Dr Grantes announced, and everyone jumped to attention, M'gann and Connor a few seconds behind. _'It is almost time to begin. But first, a few warm up exercises. Everybody:_ STAND."

Immediately every single person climbed to their feet and stood rigidly straight, Connor and M'gann following suit. The students then acted a serious of gestures – raise their left hand, stand on one leg – all of them looking like idiots but no one in the state of mind to care. It was like a horrific version of the game Simon Says; and Connor and M'gann had to play along without the instructions.

" _Fantastic,"_ Dr Grantes said appreciatively. M'gann didn't know how the man behind the tannoy knew that his orders were being carried out – had a surveillance system been installed, or were there cameras worked into the caps themselves? - but he sounded incredibly pleased with the results regardless. _"Now if you could all assemble in the main quad – we're expecting company!"_

The colony of mind-controlled students moved as one, filing towards the exit in an orderly manner. M'gann and Connor fell into line with them, keeping up their acts as they had no idea where the puppet master had hidden eyes. As she passed her desk, M'gann surreptitiously glanced down and spotted the dropped communicator, a quick flick of her wrist summoning it to her hand. She slipped the device into her pocket as she followed the others down the corridor and towards the main doors.

 _'I've sent an emergency signal to the League,'_ M'gann informed Connor, who nodded minutely in response. But as she saw the mass exodus of students and faculty congregating all around them, she began to wonder if it would be enough.

* * *

_Recognised: Batman 02. Robin B01._

Dick stepped out of the zeta tube beside his mentor and guardian, and pointedly avoided looking at him. He had decided to follow procedure that day and allow Alfred to take him home rather than zeta-ing straight to the Cave; but that didn't mean that he was talking to Bruce again.

As always, to preserve his air of mystery, Bruce was in Batman's full garb for this visit, but as Robin was still sidelined with an injury, Dick had gone for civvies. He wore his blue Superman hoodie with pride, loving the way that it made Batman scowl whenever he saw it. His shades were in place as a precaution in case Zatanna was around, but he was sincerely hoping that she wasn't. That was a confrontation he would much rather avoid.

Black Canary greeted them with a warm smile as they stepped into the main cavern of Mt. Justice, which Dick returned. "It's good to see you Robin," she said, before her eyes flickered to Batman briefly. "Have you been cleared for training this evening?"

" _Light_ training," Batman answered, making Dick roll his eyes. He knew that Bruce was only worried about him, but that wasn't making him feel better. He didn't want to be treated with kid gloves just because of a few bruised ribs and a couple of stitches. He had been feeling useless for so long due to two consecutive benchings, and Bruce's concern wasn't exactly helping matters. The sooner that he got back into the fight, the sooner that he would feel like himself again.

Black Canary nodded. "We'll keep it to gentle sparring, then. Just as soon as the others arrive. Wally and Artemis are waiting in the rec room if you want to join them, Robin."

Dick glanced between the two adults, getting the feeling that Black Canary was trying to get rid of him so that the grown-ups could talk. He had wondered why Bruce had come to the Cave for what should have been a normal training session – maybe they had made a break in the investigation?

He wanted to eavesdrop, he really did, but Batman always seemed to know that he was there. So Dick just shrugged as if he didn't care and left the cavern and the two Leaguers behind. But as he looked back he just caught Black Canary asking in surprise _"Rhode Island?"_

"Hey Rob!" Wally yelled enthusiastically before Dick could find out more, distracting the Boy Wonder with his ridiculously good mood. Dick allowed himself to be led into the rec room where Artemis was laid out on the floor maintaining her quiver of arrows. Satisfied that Dick was staying in the room, Wally sped off and threw himself onto the couch. "I'm bored and Artemis won't play video games with me."

Well, that explained why Wally was so excited to see him. Artemis rolled her eyes at the speedster's whining, and then threw Dick a look as if to say _Good Luck._ The pair of them had only been stuck in the Cave for a few days, but it was apparent that cabin fever was beginning to set in for Wally. Dick was surprised that he had lasted this long.

"Destiny?" Dick asked as he made his way to the couch and took the controller that Wally was eagerly offering, the games console already whirring to life. "Or Mortal Kombat?"

"I have spent the past thirty-six hours playing Destiny," Wally replied as Mortal Kombat loaded, and Dick wasn't entirely sure if the other boy was exaggerating or not. That might explain why Artemis didn't want to play video games with him.

"Where is everybody?" Dick asked, glancing at the time. It was nearly 4.00pm – the others should have been back from school by now. Hell, he had had time to go home, get changed and zeta to the Cave – what was holding them up?

Wally shrugged. "Kaldur's still doing that mysterious thing for Aquaman that no one will tell us about, and I think M'gann said something about an after school club the other day. Maybe she dragged Connor and Zee along with her."

It made sense, Dick guessed. They selected their characters and started beating the crap out of each other, trash talking loudly and making Artemis glare at them in irritation. The first two rounds ended with Dick graphically decapitating Wally and setting the remains on fire, before Artemis grew bored of playing with her arrows and came and joined them on the sofa.

"So..." she began as Dick started owning round three. He was a couple of moves away from taking Wally down completely, when Artemis asked something that made his hand slip. "How did your date with Zee go?"

The battle quickly turned in Wally's favour. "Err..." Dick muttered uncomfortably.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. "You stood her up, didn't you?"

On the screen, Wally's character sliced Dick's in two up the middle, the computer announcing his essentially uncontested victory. A triumphant grin lit the speedster's face as he turned to pay attention to the conversation. "Who stood who up?" he asked.

"Technically I didn't say I would go," Dick weakly attempted to defend himself.

"You said 'maybe'," Artemis retorted. Wally looked between them as if he was watching a tennis match, clearly not quite caught up on what they were talking about.

"Exactly," Dick replied with a shrug, knowing that he appeared callous. He really did feel bad about it, but the whole thing between him and Zatanna had suddenly gotten incredibly complicated, and there didn't seem to be a _good_ way to handle it. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"She told me after you had left," Artemis answered. She then sighed as if she had known that Dick would stand Zee up, her voice sounding sad as she continued. "She was very excited about you two getting back together."

"You and Zee are getting back together?" Wally interceded, sounding thoroughly confused. "I thought that you liked Babs?"

"Babs?" Artemis asked, and Dick realised that this conversation was fast getting out of hand. "As in Barbara Gordon? You two are dating? What about Zee?"

"Dude, since when did your life turn into a Stephanie Meyer novel?" Wally asked, and Dick began to wonder the exact same thing. On the one hand, there was Zatanna who was great until she had grown obsessed with knowing his civilian ID. On the other there was Babs and their very near first kiss the night before. Was he honestly caught in a love triangle at fifteen?

Dick dropped his head back against the couch as Artemis and Wally looked at him expectantly. Things were so much easier when he just wasn't talking to anyone. "I was going to break up with Zee last night," he explained to the ceiling. "But then she started crying and talking about her Dad and when she asked if we could start again I couldn't exactly say no."

Wally furrowed his eyebrows as he put everything together. "So you said maybe and stood her up instead?"

Dick knew exactly how bad that sounded. It would have been kinder to have just outright said no; but he couldn't do that to her. But at the same time, hadn't he hurt her worse by giving her hope and then snatching it away? How could it be so hard to end a relationship that clearly wasn't going anywhere anyway? And he had no idea what was going on between him and Babs. She was his best friend, but when they were Batgirl and Robin, it was as if he suddenly didn't see her as just a friend anymore. Did he really like her? Or was it just the masks?

Thankfully, he was saved from pondering the disaster that was his love life by a bleeping sound from his wrist. Instantly all talk of girl problems was ended as he tugged back his sleeve and activated his wrist-watch computer; the holographic display springing to life before him.

Wally leaned forward. "What is it?"

"Someone just activated an emergency beacon," Dick answered, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he tried to find out more. He was hooked into the Watch Tower's communication system, (without permission of course) ever since everything had happened without him knowing anything. Now he received the same alerts that the Leaguer on monitor duty would, keeping him in the loop. His eyes widened as he took in the data streaming across the screen. "It was Connor's communicator, activated at Happy Harbour High."

 _Rhode Island?!_ Dick recalled Black Canary's surprised announcement, his mind already connecting the dots. Babs had said that all the Hatter's victims were from the Rhode Island area. So was Mt. Justice, and the school that three members of the team attended. Coincidence? _Unlikely._

"Is someone attacking the school?" Artemis asked, sounding concerned. But before Dick could answer, Batman and Black Canary swept into the room, looking as close to flustered as the two Leaguers could get. Which meant that they were perfectly calm and collected, but tensed as if ready to jump into a fight. Artemis turned her question on them. "What's going on?"

Black Canary picked up the remote and changed the channel on the TV. Immediately, a news report live from Happy Harbour High filled the screen; a flabbergasted looking Cat Grant attempting to narrate what she was seeing.

" _...hundreds of students and teachers assembled in the quad, looking as if they are preparing for war,"_ she described. _"Several news stations gathered here on an anonymous tip, which we now believe was made by the perpetrators themselves. It is unsure who is behind this, but they are clearly confident in their success. Every student appears to be wearing a cap with an emblem of every member of the Justice League. This is a brazen 'bring it on' call out to our heroes..."_

"It's the Mad Hatter," Black Canary explained unnecessarily as she put the television on mute. "He's got nearly three hundred civilians under mind control, and it looks like he's going to use them against us. The whole League is responding."

Dick, Artemis and Wally stood up, about to offer their services, but Batman raised a hand. "Stay put."

"But..." Dick started to argue.

"You are injured and Wally and Artemis are under protective custody," Batman said forcefully. "Under _no_ circumstances are you to get involved in this fight. Understood?"

Dick glared at his guardian unhappily. He didn't like being sidelined; but he recognised a losing battle when he saw it. He nodded his consent, Wally and Artemis grumbling their own affirmatives. Batman shot them one last look to confirm that they were staying put, and then he and Black Canary headed towards the zeta tubes and disappeared. On the television, the scene from Happy Harbour continued to play; a streak of red and a distinctive figure in red and blue descending into the chaos.

Wally slumped against the back of the couch. "So what are _we_ supposed to do?"

* * *

Jervis Tetch watched the news in shock.

He was still in his lab beneath the school, where the Doc had been keeping him working on his greatest creations yet; and in his boredom he had decided to switch on the television. He had not expected to see a live news report from right outside the high school, the ticker-tape subtitle announcing their villainous plot to the world.

How had they found out so fast? And more to the point – how long was it before the entire Justice League arrived?

Tetch wasn't going to hang around to find out. He started packing up the things that he couldn't leave behind and prepared to make a quick getaway. Tetch was not going back to Arkham. He had no loyalty to the Doc and no great hate towards the League either. He didn't care about the whole getting revenge on the heroes thing. This wasn't _his_ plan, after all. The Doc had coerced him into helping with promises and...

_Alice._

Tetch paused in his hurry to leave, the image of his beautiful Alice freezing him in place. If he left now, he might lose his chance to have her for his own. All the plans, fantasies and daydreams he had had about their union began to crumble. He was so close to having her...

But he wouldn't be able to play with her in Arkham now, would he?

"Where do you think you're going?" the Doc asked from where he had materialised in the doorway, holding the tablet computer that Tetch had designed as a master control for all of his hats. He stood at the top of the metal steps that led from the main school down into what was once probably a boiler room and was now Tetch's workshop. "We've only just started."

"I'm getting out of here before the League shows up," Tetch retorted, finally satisfied that he had everything he needed and hefting the bag over his shoulder. The trouble was, the Doc was on the stairs, blocking his exit. "You've seen the news, right?"

The Doc grinned Cheshire-cat wide. "Isn't it brilliant?"

" _Brilliant?"_ Tetch snorted. "You're plan is ruined! There is _no way_ that you're going to get out of here with the kids and all the way up to the Hall of Justice. _How_ is this brilliant?"

"But this is so much better," the Doc replied calmly. "Now the world will see the heroes fighting innocent school children; there will be casualties, maybe even deaths. Outrage and scandal will follow and soon the people will bring down the Justice League without the extra persuasion of your mind-control devices. It's the perfect way to bring down the League, and when I'm ready, the world will know that I was the one to do it."

The Doc had called the news crews, Tetch realised. He had known that the Doc was egotistical, but this was a step beyond that. The psychiatrist was so confident that his plan would work that he had practically invited the League to try and stop him. Tetch couldn't decide if the Doc was insane, stupid or a genius, but either way – he wasn't going down with him.

"Was this your plan all along?" Tetch asked feeling himself getting angry. He was meant to be nowhere near the final attack on the Hall of Justice – he was supposed to be safe and sound in Happy Harbour with zero culpability for when the Doc's plans inevitably went wrong. It was one of the reasons why he had agreed to help in the first place; though the biggest draw was of course his Alice. Had the Doc just told him that the target was miles away to guarantee his co-operation?

The Doc glanced away for a moment, consulting the tablet computer briefly. "No," he grudgingly admitted. "I always planned to lay siege to the Hall of Justice. It was Bane that suggested this alternative; and I that perfected it."

So Tetch had Bane to thank for this U-turn in the plan? Fantastic. "This isn't what I agreed to, Doc."

"No, it isn't," The Doc agreed. "But I still require your assistance. Bane will be returning soon with the Titans and the archer. I believe that your precious Alice in exchange for your services _was_ the deal, correct?"

Technically, the Doc was right – that was the agreement. But Tetch wasn't exactly known for _honouring_ his agreements. Ignorant of the fact that the Doc was blocking his path, Tetch began to climb the stairs. "I built you hundreds of devices so that you could have your army, Doc, and considering I don't _have_ my promised Alice, I've done so free of charge. I owe you nothing, and I'm leaving."

The Doc stepped into the middle of the stairway right in front of Tetch, his hands clasped behind his back. "That's a shame Tetch," he said. "But I'm afraid I don't accept your resignation."

Faster than Tetch could react, the Doc shot forward and rammed a huge needle into his neck. His indignant cries of pain and shock morphing into low unintelligible moans as if he were speaking in slow motion. The world tilted, which vaguely occurred to him as being bad, moments before he tumbled head over heels down the stairs. He landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom, his body crying out in pain as his vision washed red.

The Doc descended the stairs slowly as if he had all the time in the world. Tetch couldn't move – could barely think – his own mind trapped in a body that felt as if it didn't belong to him. He hazily wondered if this was how his Alices felt when he seduced them with chemicals; but the thought was quickly whisked away as the Doc hovered to a stop right above him.

"I may need you for... _troubleshooting."_

* * *

The whole thing felt like a military manoeuvre.

The main quad of Happy Harbour High had been turned into a system of organised chaos. Hordes of students and faculty poured in from all the exits of the school, marching orderly in columns three-abreast. Along one side of the quad was a row of parked supply trucks painted in camouflage green, two UPS guys standing at each one, with another inside to collect the items to be handed out.

M'gann and Connor followed their classmates out of the main doors and down the steps, falling into line with the hundreds of other Justice League-themed capped people. They were led up to the third truck along, the UPS guys handing something to each and every one of them in turn.

The first students of their class passed them, and M'gann had to stifle her shocked response when she realised what they were being given. Weapons.

There was no consistency to them. Harry Williams, a jock who M'gann had never spoken to, wielded an M16 as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Lacey Collins brandished twin butterfly knifes. Justin Peterson had a baseball bat resting against his shoulder. There was everything from assault rifles to samurai swords, as if the UPS guys had raided any and all potential weapons depots in order to arm them all.

 _But what for?_ M'gann wondered. What in the world was Dr Grantes' plan? And where was the League?

When it came to their turn to stop at the truck, Zatanna stepped up first and held out her hands. The UPS guy went to hand her a knife, but then paused, his arms stuttering like a broken animatronic. He then turned, and the other UPS guy in the truck swapped the blade out for a flame thrower. He helped her put the heavy canisters over her shoulders like a back-pack as she held the gun part, her finger already on the trigger.

M'gann watched her walk off to join the others as Connor stepped up and received an aluminium baseball bat. He raised an eyebrow at the underwhelming weapon, made even more so by the fact that _he_ essentially _was_ a weapon, and then followed after Zatanna. They shared a look as they parted. _'I'll see you in a minute,'_ he promised.

And then it was M'gann's turn. She copied what Zatanna had done, and held out her hands ready to receive whatever weapon they decided upon. She was handed a stick. Literally, a piece of branch that you might throw in the park while playing fetch with a dog. What they expected her to do with said stick, she had no idea. She was just grateful that they hadn't handed her a gun or something equally deadly. How far were they intending to take their mind-controlled civilian act after all?

Armed with her stick, M'gann turned and followed the path around to where the rest of her Civics class was waiting patiently. She came to a stop beside Connor, giving him a tiny reassuring smile as they stood to attention and waited.

About three hundred or so students and faculty were gathered in the quad, organised into rows like an army assembled for war. They were all stood facing the main gates, and as M'gann peeked over the sea of heads she realised that there were more people hanging around on the other side. She saw several trucks parked haphazardly across the road outside the school, the array of dishes and aerials on their roofs giving them away as news trucks.

 _'We're on the news,'_ M'gann pointed out to Connor. Even if they had failed to activate the emergency signal on the communicator, surely the League knew by now that they needed serious help? So where...?

As if responding to her thoughts, Superman appeared above the quad, his hands held out as if trying to placate the gathered crowd of heavily armed teenagers. The response was a hail of lead.

Every gun-wielding student raised their weapons and opened fire on the Man of Steel; their aims remarkably good but still essentially pointless. The bullets bounced harmlessly of off his indestructible skin, though as to where they ricocheted off to, M'gann had no clue. If this kept up, a stray bullet was going to kill someone.

Thankfully, a familiar streak of red cut through the crowd, liberating weapons from the teenagers at high speed. Superman descended mostly unchallenged into the crowd, and in the distance more recognisable figures of Justice League members appeared. For a moment, M'gann believed that this nightmare was going to be over before it had even begun. But then Zatanna turned her attention on the scarlet speedster.

" _Kcits s'hsalF teef ot eht dnuorg!"_

Instantly, the Flash staggered to a stop, his feet seemingly glued to the ground. The asphalt began to rise around his ankles like a living creature, well and truly trapping the speedster in the magically controlled mulch. He tried to vibrate his molecules through the asphalt, but it just held him tighter. He hadn't had a chance to completely disarm everyone, and suddenly the sky was full of gunfire and feral yelling once again. The mind-controlled students immediately turned on the speedster, attacking him with bats and blades and fists.

"Flash!" M'gann yelled as the scarlet speedster practically disappeared under the onslaught of bodies. Connor immediately forgot about trying to blend in and ran to the Flash's aid, while M'gann turned to face Zee. "Zatanna! How could you?!"

Zee just turned slowly to face the Martian, levelling the barrel of her flame-thrower at her. M'gann had a moment to take in her friend's glazed eyes and wide grin, before suddenly her world was washed in orange and yellow flames.

* * *

Batgirl _loved_ the new suit. And the toys. She especially loved the toys.

The moment that she had got in from patrolling with Robin the night before, she had gone through her utility belt and memorised every item now at her disposal. She had reorganised her baterangs (which were just pure awesome, even if her aim was less than stellar at the moment) put her smoke pellets and flash-bangs within easy reach and tested her grapnel gun.

But the best thing? The wrist computer. The holographic display and one-handed keyboard took a little getting used to, but once she had mastered that she was trolling through the menus and settings to get it just how she liked it. She had tried her hand at hacking a few government facilities, and then all of a sudden it was morning and she had to go to school.

But now it was Friday night (okay, more like evening because she had decided to go out the moment that she had deemed it dark enough... which was about 4.00pm) and she was officially Batgirl.

She swung through the streets, laughing giddily, completely understanding why Robin insisted on cackling like a madman all the time. There was a euphoric rush that came with watching the world fly by beneath you, coupled with the heart-stopping moments at the end of a swing when she had to release the line and shoot of another, hoping to god that her aim was good.

Tonight wasn't about beating up bad guys, it was about practice.

But of course, the bad guys found her anyway.

She stopped a mugging on 4th, beat up a would-be rapist in Coventry and trussed up a gang of thieves breaking into the jewellery store on the Upper East Side. All in all, she was feeling pretty good about herself; confident in her abilities and growing skills.

But then an inhuman roar echoed through the streets of Old Gotham, stopping Batgirl cold.

The horrific sound sent shivers down her spine, setting off some primal instinct screaming at her to run really fast in the opposite direction. It was joined by another howl; a chilling cry that sounded both angry and pained, like a wounded animal. A really, _really_ big wounded animal. Another roar answered, this time accompanied by frightened screams – _human_ frightened screams, and Batgirl forcibly buried her desire to run.

Taking a deep readying breath, she shot off her grapnel and swung towards the growing pandemonium in Old Gotham.

She swung past the bright lights of Wayne Tower and settled on the ledge of the old clock tower, getting her first good view of the carnage below. The thin streets of Old Gotham were designed in a grid system by someone who had clearly never heard of a ruler; the narrows lanes squiggly lines on a massive tic-tac-toe board. Most of the buildings didn't rise above three storeys, and from her height, Batgirl could clearly see the big picture.

Four hulking shapes shuffled down the streets, smashing the sides of buildings as they passed as if they were mad at the architecture. Civilians fled from their homes, running down alleyways where the giant monsters couldn't follow. They were panicked and scared, but they were also Gothamites that had seen every form of crazy there was. They had enough sense to get out of the way, some of them looking to the sky for their bat-themed saviour.

Batgirl may not have been the Bat that the people were expecting, but right then, she was the only one there.

With one final prayer, she leapt from the clock tower and into the fray.

The nearest hulk was kneeling at the mouth of an alley, its huge hand reaching inside to try and grab at the civilians taking shelter within. Batgirl flew straight at it, both hands gripping her grapnel gun and her legs outstretched and together in a high velocity drop kick. Her booted feet smacked straight into the giant creature's nose, the impact jarring her entire body. She released the line and pushed off into a backwards flip, landing gingerly on the concrete in a crouch.

When she looked up, she saw that the giant and flomped back onto its butt, both hands covering its nose that was gushing a torrent of blood.

It looked like a normal guy that had taken a whole load of Alice's super-size me potion from the story. He was at least fifteen ft tall, wearing layers of old tattered and mismatched clothes like a homeless person; his skin dirty and nails long as if he had been living on the streets for a while. His bare feet were the size of SUVs and caked with grime and callouses. His hair was matted and long, the same colour as his grey-tinged scraggly beard. He whimpered in pain as he held his nose, making Batgirl almost want to apologise for kicking him.

But then he turned his dark eyes on her, and all she saw was rage.

She backed up warily as he climbed to his feet, his massive form filling the thin mouth of the alley and casting her in shadow. He gripped the corners of the two buildings and yanked, tearing off huge chunks and sending a shower of bricks and mortar everywhere. With the gap now slightly wider, the giant reached in to grab her like King Kong, but she whipped out her grapnel and fired blindly, soaring out of his reach and landing awkwardly on a fire escape.

The giant bellowed in frustration and swung his arm up, his fist smashing into the base of the fire escape and dislodging it from the wall. Batgirl yelped as she suddenly found herself airborne and spinning, her back slammed against the metal rail as it flew. As the roof of an apartment building rushed up to meet her, she shot off her grapnel one last time. She felt the line tense as it caught on to something, and then she was being yanked out of the fire escape and pulled in the opposite direction.

She landed hard on her shoulder and rolled onto her feet, wincing in pain. On the main street, the giant was staring at the wreckage created by the fire escape smashing into a pole-mounted transformer; caught between recoiling at the hot sparks and reaching out to catch the pretty lights. A live power cable danced across the apartment building's roof from where it had been freed from the transformer, scorching the tar wherever it touched.

She had to take the giant down, but she didn't know how. Suddenly, her fantastic toys seemed useless. What good was a batarang and a smoke pellet against an opponent this size? What did she have that could possibly have any affect? She ran through her entire arsenal in her mind, until finally a slightly crazy plan began to take shape. But she had to act fast.

While the giant was still distracted, she ran along the edge of the roof towards him and threw herself over the parapet. Wind-milling her arms to control her descent, she activated the lens shutters and ear mufflers built into her cowl, leaving her completely blind and deaf. Her planned trajectory had her smashing ungainly onto the giant's shoulder, but she somehow managed to land on her feet. Before he could knock her off, she grabbed his ear for a handhold and activated a flash-bang grenade right in his face.

She couldn't hear his roar of pain and outrage, but her sense of balance warned her that the giant was staggering backwards. She deactivated the lens shutters so that she could aim her grapnel, getting clear of the giant's lumbering form as fell back against the abandoned building behind him. The earth shook as he hit the street, legs sprawled like a teddy bear and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Batgirl stood from where she had landed, one hand holding her bruised shoulder as she grinned smugly at the giant that she had just taken down.

But then another monstrous growl reached her ears, followed by a second, and a third. Three more huge giants staggered towards their fallen brethren, and then turned their fury on her.

_Oh crap._

* * *

"Is this a sufficient test, _mi señoría?"_ Bane asked.

Beside him his patron grinned broadly. They were stood on one of the taller buildings of Old Gotham, ravaged by the winter wind, though neither of them particularly noticed the cold. His bulk kept him from feeling the chill, and his patron wore a black high-collar coat over her skin tight outfit. Her long dark hair whipped around her pale face as they watched the battle below.

The first Titan had been taken down by the Batgirl, which was a mildly impressive feat considering that she had only been in the business for less than a month. But now she was facing three more opponents, and it was fairly obvious just how bad her odds were.

His patron watched the Batgirl with interest, but Bane didn't believe that the girl was who she was after. " _Lo siento, mi señoría,_ but I thought that you wished to challenge the Boy Wonder with the Titans?"

"Indeed," his patron nodded. "Miss Gordon is a smart girl. She will call for help at any moment. With the League sufficiently distracted by the Doctor's plans, and the super-powered half of the team trapped in Happy Harbour, she will have no choice but to call upon Robin. And then you will see a proper fight."

Bane didn't see how a little boy would be able to bring down the Titans, but he decided to keep that doubt to himself. Perhaps if the brat died tonight his patron would rethink her plans and release him from her service, but as he watched her study the Batgirl, he sincerely doubted that that would happen. She would just switch targets.

"Soon, Bane," his patron muttered, as if she sensed his disbelief. "Soon you will see."


	11. Part Eleven

**Part Eleven**

"Are we seriously staying put?"

Dick glanced over at Wally who was looking just about ready to ignore Batman's orders and zoom off to Happy Harbour High. Artemis was still watching the television, studying what unclear footage they could get of what was happening just a few miles away. Dick, for his part, was tuned into the radio chatter streaming between the League, forming a mental picture of the battlefield.

"Come _on!"_ Wally whined, his voice tinged with a little super-speed as he buzzed with nervous energy. "We should be _out_ _there!_ They're _our_ friends!"

Dick and Artemis shared a look, confirming that they were both on the same page. "Look, Walls, I don't like it any more than you do," Dick tried, though he had to admit that it was taking nearly all of his self control not to run to the bio-ship and give the League some aerial support. "But we've been ordered to stay away from the fight."

"Like we've never disobeyed orders before!" Wally retorted.

"This is different, Wally," Artemis stepped up. "The whole world is watching what's happening at Happy Harbour, and how the Justice League reacts to this. They're fighting _kids._ If a bunch of teen heroes join in – teen heroes on a _covert team_ that isn't even meant to _exist_ – it could completely ruin their image."

Wally raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Artemis looked back at Dick, which he took to be his cue to explain. "The Justice League relies on public opinion and government sanction in order to operate. Without that support they would be shunned and forced to disband, which could leave the Earth even more open to threats than it already is. They have to handle this situation just right – or it could mean the end of the League."

Wally sobered at that realisation, his tense pacing coming to a stop. "So... we _are_ staying put?"

"We can't make this any worse than it already is," Artemis sighed. Being sidelined didn't sit well with any of them, but they at least understood the reasoning behind it. And this was _before_ they had added in Batman's valid reasons of injuries and burned IDs and such.

The three of them fell into silence, their moods subdued by their complete inability to help. Wally gave up on pacing completely and slumped on the sofa beside Artemis, both of them staring at the screen as a news helicopter managed to get a birds-eye view of the carnage. They watched as the League tried to figure out the best way to take the mind-controlled students down with the least amount of consequences; while Dick listened to the heroes try and come up with solutions over the radios.

Their past run-ins with the Hatter's victims had proven that the mind-control tech was not perfect. The earlier attempts killed their victims. 100% mortality rate. The slightly newer versions; like the ones used during Artemis' kidnapping from the safe house, left their victims either with no memory, catatonic, or dead. Simply removing the Justice-League themed caps from the students would stop the assault – but it also came with the high chance of killing them.

The League couldn't run that risk – so what was the alternative? Knock them out and hope that they didn't get trampled in the chaos? Restrain them and pray that they didn't hurt themselves in their attempts to escape? It was a no-win situation; but Dick was sure that there _had_ to be a way.

He was so involved in trying to think of one in fact, that he didn't notice his cellphone ringing.

"Uh, dude," Wally said, snapping Dick's attention away from the League's conversation. "You're buzzing."

His phone was vibrating in his jeans pocket, which was rather obvious once he disconnected from the League's radio feed. He quickly pulled out the phone, catching the picture of Barbara mid-sneeze that he'd taken as her caller ID, before he hit Accept. "Babs?"

" _Hi Dick,"_ Barbara greeted cordially, though it sounded a little forced and there were some incredibly weird noises in the background. Instantly he was on alert, sitting up a little straighter as he tried to identify the sounds. _"So nice of you to answer your_ phone."

Dick furrowed his eyebrows wondering what she was getting at, before he noticed a flashing light on his wrist computer. He had _several_ messages from Batgirl waiting, but he hadn't been able to hear the calls while hooked into the League frequency. "What's going on?"

" _Oh, just a party in Old Gotham,"_ Babs explained. A massive _boom_ sounded over the line like an elephant stamping its foot, followed by a monstrous roar. Dick had no idea what was going on, and Babs couldn't exactly tell him over an unsecured line, but it sounded _really_ bad. _"Great music, good times and_ huge guests. _You should swing by, it's awesome._ "

"I'm on my way," Dick promised, already climbing to his feet, earning curious glances from Wally and Artemis.

" _Good,"_ Barbara grunted, sounding out of breath as if she were running a marathon. " _It's not the same withou-"_

A loud _crunch_ cut her off mid-sentence, leaving Dick with only the empty echo of the dial tone. "Babs?!" he half-yelled into the phone, though he knew it was useless. In frustration he threw the stupid thing against the wall, destroying his second phone in three days.

Wally was by his side in an instant, Artemis hovering just behind her boyfriend's shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Something big is attacking Old Gotham," Dick explained hurriedly, heading straight for the zeta tubes. "Babs is on her own. I've gotta go."

Artemis looked mildly confused as to why Barbara Gordon was on her own against some big baddie in Gotham, but wisely chose not to comment. Wally, who knew that Babs was Batgirl, just looked worried. "We should suit up."

"Right," Dick agreed, and then paused. "Wait, 'we'?"

"Well, _duh_ , Boy Blunder," Artemis retorted as she grabbed up her abandoned quiver and bow. "You didn't think that we were letting you go _alone,_ did you?"

Dick was stuck between arguing his point and getting to Babs as quickly as possible. "But... you're IDs are burned... you're in _hiding..._ "

"And you have a bullet hole in your chest," Wally pointed out matter-of-factly.

He had a point.

"Okay, fine," Dick relented, silently glad to have his two best friends as back-up even as he worried about the huge risk that they were taking. "Lets go."

* * *

As the flames came roaring towards her face, M'gann reacted on instinct.

With a panicked scream she turned and hit the deck; one arm flinging towards the students that were in the fire's path and dragging them telekinetically to the concrete, while the other gestured at the flame-thrower and nudged it skywards.

She landed painfully on her shoulder as the heat seared her skin, fear gripping her heart as she thought for sure that she was on fire. But the flames shut off, and M'gann realised that she wasn't even burned. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her body felt as if she had just been through a full-body workout, but Zatanna had missed.

Judging by the disappointed expression on Zee's face, this was not by design.

No one else had been hurt either, for which M'gann was extremely grateful; she had been fast enough with her powers to get them out of the line of fire. But she couldn't keep this up. They were surrounded on all sides by mind-controlled students – and Zee's weapon of choice was likely to take out more than just her target. And on top of that there were news cameras watching the whole battle of Happy Harbour High – using her powers anymore than she already had could expose her on national television.

She had to move the fight away from there. And then she had to figure out how to get Zee back.

So as Zatanna levelled her flame-thrower for another attempt to roast the Martian, M'gann did the only smart thing that she could think of. She ran.

It felt odd to run when her instinct was to fly, but she ignored that as she barrelled through the crowd. All around her gunfire, war cries and the clang of metal on metal assaulted her senses. She could hear the League trying to calm their attackers, even as they knew it wouldn't work. She could smell the coppery tang of blood in the air. And she could feel Zatanna bearing down on her like a predator stalking her prey.

Whoever was behind this _knew_ who they were. It was the only explanation as to why Zee was targeting her so specifically. Someone knew that she was a Martian and that her biggest weakness was fire – why else would the UPS guy have changed his mind over what weapon to hand Zatanna?

But this was an issue to worry about later. For now, M'gann focused on running. She slammed straight through the school's main doors and back into the cool halls that felt so refreshing against her recently cooked skin. Zatanna was right behind her, the nearly silently _click_ of the trigger being pulled the only warning she got before the roar of flames assaulted M'gann again.

She dived through an open doorway to avoid the torrent of fire; the heat turning her legs to jelly as she tried to roll back onto her feet but ended up slumped on the carpet. Zatanna stood in the doorway, swinging the flame-thrower from side-to-side to fill the room with the deadly orange and yellow flames. M'gann stayed where she had landed under a desk, unable to find the strength to move as her body failed to cope with the heat.

After what felt like hours, Zatanna finally shut off the flame-thrower and stepped into the room. She shut the door behind her, keeping the stifling warmth in as a couple of desks and a bookshelf continued to burn. The air was smoky and permeated with the acrid smell of melted plastic. M'gann felt as if she were trapped in a sauna; the painful heat making her skin blister as she struggled to breathe.

She heard footsteps approaching, and then the desk she was hiding under was shoved backwards, revealing Zatanna. The homo-magi levelled the flame-thrower directly at the Martian; the likelihood of her missing again extremely low.

"Zee..." M'gann choked. "Please... _don't..."_

Zatanna blinked, but then her grip tightened on her weapon. It was the tiniest of slips in the Batman-cap's control, but it filled M'gann with hope. Zee was still in there somewhere, maybe even aware of her actions but unable to control them. M'gann couldn't let Zee hurt her – the guilt would kill her.

But what could she do? She'd already tried her telepathy, but had been met with nothing but a mental wall. Maybe with time she could break through – but with her imminent crispy demise being likely; she didn't _have_ time. She could telekinetically take off the cap; but the consequences of that... well, M'gann had heard the reports. There was a possibility that removing the hats incorrectly could put Zee in a catatonic state; or maybe even _kill_ her. She couldn't take that risk.

Which left _what?_

"I... I have to..." Zee mumbled, her voice sounding confused and conflicted. M'gann latched onto the momentary lapse immediately.

"No, you don't," she wheezed. "You're stronger than this. You can break free-"

The change in Zatanna was instantaneous. She stood straight and lowered the weapon; staring straight ahead as if waiting for instructions. "Yes, Doctor."

 _Doctor?_ M'gann wondered, completely bewildered. And then she gradually began to put the pieces together. Zatanna had been acting weird _before_ she had been forced to wear the hat. When she had used the mind link before, she had sensed another presence – not like Psimon hacking their connection, but more like a leftover imprint of someone being there before. Zee had been going to see Dr Grantes – the bad guy behind it all. He must have done something. Planted a suggestion...

A plan began to form; half-educated guess and half-craziness, but it was the best that she had. With a little concentration, she shape-shifted her voice, taking on a deeper, masculine tone with the hint of a nasal whine. _"You can stop now, Zatanna. Put down the weapon. You're free."_

"Yes, Doctor," Zatanna agreed. She slipped the gas canisters from her shoulders and placed them with the rest of the flame-thrower on the floor, and then stood. M'gann breathed a sigh of relief, partially stunned that her plan had worked. She had managed to use Dr Grantes' hypnotic programming against him; undoing the subliminal orders that had driven Zatanna to attack her. Which would have been an awesome feat, if she hadn't forgotten one crucial thing.

Zatanna was still wearing a hat.

" _Nice try Miss Martian,"_ Dr Grantes' voice announced from a tiny speaker sown into the cap's lining. " _But I have more than one trick up my sleeve."_

Before M'gann could react or process the words; Zatanna's face had morphed into a feral scowl. The homo-magi launched herself at M'gann, pinning the Martian to ground as she started to brutally beat M'gann with her fists.

Oddly, it was as M'gann was trying to defend herself when she finally realised why she recognised Dr Grantes' voice.

* * *

"Professor Strange," Batman growled.

Dr Grantes simply grinned and gave a shallow bow, making it very difficult for Batman to not give into the urge to close the distance between them and smash the smug egomaniac's face in. He cursed himself for not running the same thorough background checks that he vetted the entirety of Gotham Academy's staff with at Happy Harbour.

How could he have missed this? It was _his_ fault that this has happened – letting someone like Strange get this close to the Team – allowing the League to be forced into a confrontation with no possible positive outcome. It was his fault. He had overlooked the possibility.

But he could take the blame later. For now he needed to focus on ending this before it could escalate further.

"It's over, Strange," Batman declared.

Professor Strange chuckled. "It is really, Batman? Are you sure about that?" He cupped a hand to his ear and pantomimed listening intently. From outside in the quad the racket of the continuing battle reached them; the gunfire bursts now fewer and further between, but the feral yelling of the mind-controlled students still going strong. "It doesn't sound like it's over now, does it?"

Batman glared at the psychiatrist. "It's over for you, Strange. Tell me where the Hatter is and I might only beat you to a _slightly_ bloody pulp."

Strange shook his head and scoffed. "He's around here somewhere."

Batman was not in the mood for being toyed with. He needed to find the Hatter and get him to shut down the mind-control devices – it was the only way to stop this without bloodshed. Innocent bloodshed at least. He wouldn't mind breaking Strange's nose after all. "How are the students being controlled?"

"You think I would tell you?" Strange asked derisively. "Someone overestimates their power to intimidate."

Before Strange could even think to react, Batman was in his personal space; making the psychiatrist jump and scarper back a few paces until his back hit the wall. Batman raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"

Strange gathered his wits about him. "I'm about to destroy the Justice League. You don't scare me."

"All you're _destroying_ is your chance of ever being able to walk again," Batman threatened. Strange barely cowed, which might have been impressive if it wasn't so frustrating. The psychiatrist was so confident in his success that he couldn't believe in the possibility of failure. It was near impossible to intimidate someone who honestly believed that they were infallible. The _only_ way to get them to talk, was to appeal to their ego. "You're plan won't work," Batman goaded, taking a step back and allowing Strange to think that he had won.

"It already _has_ ," Strange grinned. "Can't you hear your little League buddies fretting over how to handle this? They're stuck between and rock and hard place where there is _no good move_ for them to play. How many of the children do you reckon have been injured so far? How many are _dead?_ And whose fault is it? The _League's._ "

Batman watched Strange carefully as he allowed the villain to keep monologuing. "There are twenty news channels outside – fifty-odd reporters. Images of the League beating up school kids is being broadcast around the world! What will the parents think? How will the Government react? They'll have to cover their own asses – sure, the League saved the world a few times; but now they're child beaters! There goes your funding, your support, your precious little satellite in space..."

Strange paused to bask in his glory, his hand going to his pocket to pull out a tablet computer. Batman had a batarang ready should Strange be about to pull off a surprise attack, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the psychiatrist was about to ruin his own plan.

"And who did all this? Who made the Justice League the most-hated heroes in history?" Strange asked rhetorically. _"Me._ Me and one little computer-"

Batman struck with inhuman speed, his gauntleted fist smashing in to Strange's nose with a satisfying _crunch._ Strange staggered, both hands flying to stem the waterfall of blood as Batman liberated the tablet computer. He swept Strange's legs out from under him, leaving the psychiatrist a bloody heap on the floor.

He then turned his attention to the computer, scrolling through options and sub-menus until he finally found what he was looking for. The master control. With a single swipe he shut down the entirety of Hatter's mind-control network and then activated his communicator for confirmation.

" _They're all back to normal,"_ Superman reported, sounding relieved. _"Very confused, but normal."_

 _Good_ , Batman thought as he kept the computer for evidence. There would be damage control to do with the media, but overall, things could have been a lot worse. But he still couldn't forgive himself for the oversight that had led to this farce in the first place. He turned his attention back to Professor Strange, who had pulled himself into a seated position against the wall.

"Y-you think th-this over...?" Strange stammered as he held one hand to his mangled nose. "Y-you think th-that was my only t-trick? Hah!"

Strange pulled another device from his pocket; and Batman had but a second to send a warning over the communicator as he took in the detonator in Strange's hand.

And then he was deafened and blinded by the explosion.

* * *

Robin was running before the light of the zeta tube had even faded. He had materialised in the derelict phone booth in Old Gotham, knowing that it was a three-minute flat out run to Batgirl's last known location. He wished that he had his bike, or really _anything_ to make him get there faster, but he didn't. All he had was his grapnel, which would shave a mere thirty seconds off of his journey time.

He was two streets away from the phone booth when a familiar streak of red and yellow zoomed past him. Kid Flash had been the last one through the zeta, but would be the first one to reach Batgirl, something for which Robin was incredibly grateful. Artemis had just come through after Robin, making her about half a street behind.

Robin fired his grapnel and took to the sky the moment that he came across a building tall enough; swinging himself up and onto a rooftop so that he could travel as the crow flies.

" _What the hell...?"_ Kid Flash muttered over the radio, his question cut off by the sound of breaking glass and a muffled curse.

Robin pushed himself to run faster.

His chest was hurting and every breath burned as if he was inhaling glass shards. Every jump and roll pulled at the stitches and made his bruised ribs cry out in protest. But he didn't allow himself to think about it. He just kept swinging and running and completely ignoring his body's warnings that this was way too much, way too soon.

Finally, after what felt like an age, he staggered to a stop on an apartment building roof; taking in the scene in an instant. Nearby, a downed transformer hissed and sparked, providing the only light as the rest of the power in the area had been knocked out. The stars were blocked by gathering storm clouds, which just made the monsters look that much more horrific.

There were four of them; all of them at least fifteen ft tall and wearing mismatched rags like homeless people. One of them had a broken nose that was still streaming blood. Another had an assortment of batarangs littering its plaid shirt. They all looked pissed off.

Kid Flash was doing his best to irritate them further; calling out random monster-related insults as he zipped between their feet, moving too fast for them to catch.

Batgirl was trying to fend off the monster with the broken nose, who was completely ignoring all of Kid Flash's creative attempts to distract him. The giant had Batgirl cornered with her back against a wall; his bare, grimy toes booting the brickwork over and over again. Batgirl kept dodging – _just_ – until a chunk of loosed mortar smacked her in the head and sent her sprawling. The giant then lifted his foot to step on her.

So Robin did the only logical thing. He attacked.

With a growl he leapt off of the apartment building roof; a concussive batarang in each hand, and landed hard on the giant's neck. With the batarangs as close to the giant's ears as he could get, he set them off – a bright light and eardrum-bursting bang making the giant stumble backwards.

The good news: the giant didn't step on Batgirl. The bad news: the giant _really_ didn't like flash-bangs.

Robin had a millisecond to react as the giant blindly swatted at him as if he were a gnat. The Boy Wonder ducked beneath the hand that pounded against the monster's neck and pushed off; throwing himself into a backwards somersault and dropping towards the ground. On instinct, he drew his grapnel and fired, trusting that his aim was true. The line caught, giving him barely an inch of clearance as he swung in a low arc and released; tumbling into a barely controlled roll.

He came back up on his feet, right beside Batgirl, which had been completely unintentional.

"Nice of you to show up," she jibed with a tired grin.

"Now it's a party," Robin retorted. Artemis dropped from an fire escape and landed beside him, two arrows immediately notched in her bow and her grey eyes taking in every detail. Kid Flash joined them a second later, appearing out of a gust of wind and grinning broadly. Robin made the quick introductions while the giants seemed otherwise preoccupied with trying to figure out where Kid Flash had gone. The one with the bloody nose held the side of a building for support as his sight and hearing slowly returned. "What works?"

"They don't like flash-bangs," Batgirl explained, gesturing at the nearest giant. "I knocked that one down with a direct hit. Trouble is, he recovered pretty quick."

So, good for a short term fix, Robin concluded. But they were going to need something a little more permanent than that. "They're not very smart," Kid Flash added with a smirk. "You don't have giant tranquillisers in those belts, do ya?"

"Knockout gas, that's about it," Batgirl shrugged. The giant with the bloody nose stood up straight and roared, before settling his gaze on her.

Kid Flash raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that guy _really_ doesn't like you."

"I kinda kicked him in the face," Batgirl explained. The giant thundered towards them. "He took it personally."

"Break!" Robin ordered, the four of them splitting into two groups as the giant charged them like a bull. Artemis took the high ground and jumped on top of a dumpster, firing a trick arrow full of noxious gas at the giant as he skidded to a stop. The arrow burst right beneath his nose, giving him a a whole face-full of the gas – the dosage of sedative high enough to bring down a full-grown elephant. It did little more than make the giant momentarily dizzy. So much for that.

In response, the giant picked up another dumpster and threw it at Artemis. The archer would have been squished flat had Kid Flash not grabbed her at super-speed and carried her to the other side of the alley. However, seeing the streak of red and yellow once again drew the other three giants over. They couldn't take all four of them at once – Robin wasn't even sure that they could even handle one. Not until they figured out what could take them down, at least. He turned to Kid Flash and Artemis. "Distract them."

Kid Flash gave him a mock-salute and sped off, Artemis following while notching more arrows ready. In moments, the pair of them had the three giants utterly confused and entirely focused on their game of whack-a-speedster.

"And we're doing what?" Batgirl asked. Bloody-Nose growled and charged them again, quite obsessed with trampling Batgirl into a gooey puddle.

Without a word, the two Bats divided; Batgirl diving through a demolished wall to their left, and Robin firing his grapnel and climbing a fire escape to their right. The giant barrelled past like a freight train, but he was getting much better at stopping. He skidded and turned; his momentum dropping him to one knee like a runner's ready-stance. And then he was up and shouldering into the partially-destroyed building where Batgirl had taken shelter.

Bricks and plaster and smashed windows began to rain down; forcing Batgirl further into the building to keep herself from being brained. Which gave Robin a crazy idea. "BG, you alright?" he asked over the radio, getting a grumbled affirmative in response. "Good, stay put until I say."

He climbed up another few levels of the fire escape while the giant was busy doing his part as a one-man wrecking crew, until he was back up on the apartment roof. He backed up along the edge of the parapet, running a few quick calculations through his head, before breaking into a run and taking a flying leap.

In mid-air he took his grapnel and fired directly to his right; the hook catching expertly on a exposed support beam. As the line pulled taut, Robin's own momentum swung him back around, driving him into a horizontal loop. The giant leaned back to strike again with perfect timing, providing just enough room for Robin to squeeze between him and the building, the line wrapping around the giant's chest.

Using the full length of the rope he swung right back to where he had started, abandoning the whole grapnel gun and dropping back onto the apartment roof. He looked back to see the leftover force spin the grapnel around its own rope; effectively tying the giant in a huge noose. Now he just had to hope that it held.

"BG, I need to to run back out into the alleyway and get as far away from that building as you can, understand?"

" _Do I want to know why?"_ Batgirl asked, even as he heard her start running; avoiding the falling debris as she sprinted straight towards the giant. Robin watched as she darted between Bloody-Nose's legs, making the giant spin in an attempt to grab her, before she fired her own grapnel and rappelled onto the apartment roof.

Immediately, Bloody-Nose tried to get to her, tugging forcefully at the rope tied around his chest. The support beam was yanked free. The whole building crumbled, the thunderous cacophony of several tons of bricks and metal surrendering to gravity echoing in the night; like a massive Jenga tower toppling to its destruction. Beneath the wreckage, the giant lay collapsed in a daze.

Batgirl turned to Robin. "Did you just drop a building on a giant?"

"Why, yes. Yes I did," Robin grinned. "That should keep him down for a while."

"KID FLASH!" Artemis screamed, making Robin snap towards the shout. He watched as one of the giant's caught on to the game; swiping with a huge fist and slamming into Kid Flash even as he ran at super-speed. A horrible crack reverberated around the streets, seemingly louder than the demolition of the building. With Kid Flash effectively stilled, all three of the giants advanced. Immediately arrows peppered all of them as Artemis tried to draw their attention. But it wasn't working.

All the giants wanted was Kid Flash.

* * *

_'Connor!'_

M'gann's voice echoed loud and clear in the Kryptonian's skull, filling him with dread. Instantly he forgot all about the battle happening all around him and ran in the direction that he had last seen his girlfriend disappear in earlier. The League could handle a few hundred mind-controlled students without him.

He had been worried about M'gann ever since the moment that Zatanna had chased her back into the school with a flame-thrower, but he had had faith in her ability to defend herself. Behind the closed doors M'gann should have been able to use her powers, putting her on an equal playing field with Zee – or at least, that's what Connor kept telling himself as he helped the Flash get free from the spell that left him at the students' mercy. Now he wasn't so sure. _'Where are you?'_ he yelled as he smashed through the main doors.

 _'Ms Holloway's classroom,'_ M'gann replied. _'Hurry!'_

Connor didn't need telling twice. He barrelled down the hallway, noting the scorch marks and still-flaming debris that littered the walls. He shouldered his way through the classroom door and stumbled to a stop at the sight that greeted him.

M'gann lay on the floor, a desk tied around her as if the metal legs were living arms; completely cocooning her in its embrace. Her eyes glowed green as she used her telekinesis, though what for, Connor couldn't tell. Zatanna stood before the blackboard with an irritated glare, her mouth closed as if she were sucking on a lemon.

"I can't hold it!" M'gann gasped when she saw Connor arrive. "Keep her from talking!"

 _Oh._ Now Connor understood. M'gann was mentally sealing Zatanna's mouth shut, keeping her from casting any more spells like the one that had most likely gotten the Martian girl wrapped up in a desk.

Closing the distance between himself and Zatanna in an instant, Connor grabbed the homo-magi around the waist with one arm and clamped his hand over her mouth with the other. Immediately she began to kick and struggle; her cries of outrage muffled against his palm. M'gann slumped against the carpet; her eyes flashing back to normal just before she let them close in exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" Connor asked as he held the rebelling Zatanna as tightly as he could without his super-strength hurting her. M'gann nodded from where she lay, unable to get up as she was trapped, and Connor unable to help as he was currently otherwise occupied. "Uh, what am I supposed to do with Zee?"

As if on cue, Zatanna went limp in Connor's grip, falling completely unconscious. Automatically, Connor loosened his hold, worried that he had suffocated her by accident. He knelt down and held her in his lap as she gradually came to again, her blue eyes blinking as she took in her surroundings. "W-what's going on?"

Connor looked to M'gann for confirmation that it wasn't just an act. She activated her telepathy, either trying to read Zatanna or checking in with her Uncle and the League, though Connor wasn't sure which. M'gann then smiled in relief. "She's back to normal. Batman managed to deactivate the hats that were controlling them."

"Hats? Control?" Zee asked, sitting up and removing the Batman cap as if it were a live snake. "The Mad Hatter was _here?!"_

Now that he no longer had to restrain Zatanna, Connor crouched beside M'gann and easily straightened the desk legs to free her. She slipped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close, noticing that her skin was unnaturally warm to the touch from the after-effects of being attacked with a flame-thrower.

"It was Dr Grantes," M'gann explained, making Zatanna's eyes widen in horror for some reason that Connor didn't understand. "He used Hatter tech to enslave everyone in the school."

"What... what did I do...?" Zee asked, but before either of them could answer, a huge explosion rocked the school. The volume of the blast had them all covering their ears as the ground shook beneath them. Plaster dust showered them as the walls rumbled to their foundations. Instinctively Connor leaned over M'gann to protect her, but there wasn't any need. Whatever had blown up was far enough away from them that they were left completely unscathed.

"What was that?!"

* * *

Robin was moving before he had even finished processing what was happening. He ran to the edge of the apartment roof and jumped off the side that ran parallel to the main street. Below, Kid Flash lay crumpled in the middle of the three giants, Artemis still trying to get to him. Robin heard Batgirl following behind him, but she stopped where he had kept going.

He landed on the nearest giant's shoulder and drew a concussive batarang. The device exploded beside the giant's ear, causing it to stagger back and automatically raise an arm, which Robin then used as a bridge onto the next giant. He set off another batarang and threw a third at the first giant, keeping both of them effectively disorientated.

It was as he was about to take out the third, however, when it all went wrong.

The first two giants tumbled like dominoes, but the third one didn't fall. Way below, Artemis had reached Kid Flash and was in the process of dragging him away from the huge stampeding feet; Batgirl appearing out of nowhere and offering her a hand. The third giant spotted them and made a bid to squash them, creating a distance that Robin couldn't jump unassisted.

He pulled his spare grapnel from its compartment and aimed it at the giant's ear; the hook embedding into the sensitive skin and making the giant bellow in pain. Robin was yanked from the shoulder of the second monster as the third one stumbled backwards. He tried to turn the fall into a swing, but the giant wasn't having it. Robin was grabbed out of the air, the grapnel ripped from his grip as the enormous hand wrapped around his whole body from his shoulders downwards.

Lights danced across his vision as all the air was squeezed out of him, every bone and muscle screaming out in protest. Through the haze he was vaguely aware of a strange buzzing sound, and then suddenly he could breathe again.

He felt the wind rush past him as he fell, the stormy night sky getting further and further away as he plummeted towards the concrete.

" _ROBIN!"_


	12. Part Twelve

Kid Flash watched Robin fall.

He was semi-aware of both Batgirl and Artemis shooting to their feet and sprinting to help – but he was stuck where he was, staring helplessly as once again his best friend died for the second time that week. Instinctively, he tried to stand, but pain erupted from his left hip and shot all the way down to his ankle. His leg was well and truly broken – most likely in multiple places.

The lenses of Robin's domino mask were reduced to slits, and judging by the limpness of his body as he fell, Kid Flash guessed that he was unconscious. That was probably a good thing – Dick would never admit it in either persona, but Wally knew that he was petrified of falling like his parents had. Even if Robin had been conscious, he had no grapnel with which to save himself.

All he had was a long drop and a painful stop.

Kid Flash held his breath as Batgirl and Artemis ran to intercept, both girls launching off of the hood of an abandoned Honda and grabbing Robin out of mid-air. He didn't dare breathe again until they had tumbled to a stop – using a brick wall as a brake – and crouched to check on the Boy Wonder.

Artemis turned and gave Kid Flash a small nod and a relieved smile, and his heart stuttered back to life. Robin was okay. For now.

The girls hooked an arm each around Robin and helped him over to where Kid Flash was waiting; his eyes now open and his legs somewhat able to support his weight. They all took shelter behind the remains of a demolished store front, crouching out of sight of the monsters as they recovered from Robin's assault.

"Is everyone okay?" Kid Flash asked immediately, his eyes scanning over the three of them and then settling on Robin. Batgirl and Artemis were bruised and dirty; a cut tearing the fabric of his girlfriend's mask just above her left eye, and a dribble of blood trickling down from Batgirl's split lip. They shrugged their confirmations of relative health.

"Peachy," Robin replied, though the grimace that accompanied the response belied the truth. Kid Flash could see the way that Robin was flinching as he wrapped one arm around his chest protectively; his breath coming in short, pained gasps. Robin saw Kid Flash raise a disbelieving eyebrow at him and instantly deflected. "What about you?"

"Just a sprained ankle," Kid Flash retorted, the blatant lie evident in the unnatural angle of his leg. Robin studied the twisted limb and winced emphatically. "Why did Plaid Shirt drop you anyway?"

"The utility belt has an in-built security feature," Robin explained as he peeked over the wall that they were taking cover behind. "If anyone unauthorised touches it, they get zapped."

"I thought that was a joke," Batgirl muttered, glancing at her own utility belt as if it might suddenly rebel against her.

"I don't think that the giant actually dropped him. At least, not on purpose," Artemis suggested as she stared over the wall. She pointed at Plaid Shirt and squinted. "Look at that thing's hand."

Considering that Kid Flash was practically an invalid, he couldn't exactly climb into a crouch as the others had. But he did manage to turn just enough to peek through a gap in the bricks. He saw that the two dazed giants had gotten back onto their feet and were scouring around, trying to figure out where the little people had gone. Bloody-Nose was still trapped, semi-conscious, under the collapsed building. But Plaid Shirt? He was just standing there in the middle of the street looking utterly confused.

"Where _is_ its hand?" Batgirl asked, which Kid Flash was pretty sure Plaid Shirt was wondering too. His left arm now ended in a stump – but it wasn't bloody as if it had been cut off. It looked as if someone had tied of his wrist with an elastic band; the little knot at the end actually a normal, human-sized hand.

"It shrunk," Kid Flash answered, feeling a little bit queasy as he imagined what the bone structure and tendons would look like – forced to adapt from massive to tiny between forearm and hand. It just sounded painful, and his own wrist twinged in sympathy.

"Back to normal size," Robin added thoughtfully.

"The way that they're dressed, their clumsiness as they try to move – they've got to be some mad man's guinea pigs," Artemis deduced. "They're just normal people doped up on monster steroids."

"Exactly," Robin agreed. "BG, you got your taser?"

Batgirl nodded, selecting the device from her belt. "You reckon that the electric shock reverted the giant's hand back to normal?"

"It's a working theory," Robin shrugged. "I want to test out how much voltage we're gonna need to turn them entirely back to normal." He turned around to face them. "Artemis, stay with KF and try and set his leg in case we need to move. BG, you're with me."

As Kid Flash watched Robin and Batgirl slip away; melting into the shadows like the bat-ninjas they were, he mentally kicked himself for being so useless. He hadn't been quick enough to avoid getting pancaked, and now he was a liability as he left the hard work to the others. What if one of them got hurt and he wasn't there to help? He was the only one there with powers – he should be their ace in the hole, but instead he was just in the way. Stupid giant breaking his stupid leg.

Artemis knelt before him, her grey eyes studying him in concern. "Stop that," she ordered, confirming his suspicion that his girlfriend was actually a mind reader. "This isn't your fault. They're going to be fine."

"Right," Wally muttered. He stared intently through the peeper hole as Artemis scouted around for a suitable splint for his leg in the debris. He watched as Robin and Batgirl approached Bloody-Nose, thankfully none of the other giants seeing them. If they were spotted they were screwed. Despite his insistence to the contrary, Robin was far from okay; and Batgirl had been at this for who knew how long before they had even arrived. They were tired and hurting. They couldn't win a fight against four giants right now.

Artemis returned and crouched beside his damaged leg. She lined up the board that she had found as a splint, and then set a roll of duct tape from her pack on the ground beside her. Kid Flash scoffed lightly and gestured to the tape. "Always be prepared," Artemis shrugged. She the took a smaller stick that she had found, offering it to him as she winced apologetically. "This is going to hurt..."

Kid Flash understood. She was about to twist his leg back to some semblance of normalcy – _hurt_ was an understatement. But he couldn't yell or make too much noise, lest the lingering giants sniff them out while he was less than mobile. He scowled at the small stick, but nodded his consent. Artemis leaned forward and placed a comforting kiss on his lips, and then stuck the stick between his teeth.

"Ready?"

_Not even a little bit._

She took his ankle in one hand and placed her other on his knee and _yanked._ There aren't words to describe the pain. It was blinding, overwhelming. Bright spots danced across his vision as he bit down hard enough on the stick to make it snap.

"Breathe, Wally," Artemis instructed as he felt her hands skim along the burning pain that had once been his leg. "I'm almost done."

Kid Flash forced himself to exhale through tightly gritted teeth, his eyes screwed shut as he listened to the rip and stick of the duct tape. Finally, the pain began to ebb just slightly. It still hurt – _Jesus Christ_ it hurt – but at least it was now manageable. Artemis kissed him again, and as she leaned back he opened his eyes and thanked his lucky stars that she was his.

"There, all done," she smiled, though he could still see the worry in her eyes. They both knew that it was a bad break, and with his accelerated healing it was likely that the bones would knit back together wrong and need re-breaking later. A prospect that he was not looking forward to.

An agonised roar filled the night air.

Kid Flash could worry about his leg later. Right now, there were giants to deal with.

He craned his neck to try and see what was going on with Robin and Batgirl, but there was nothing to see. The alleyway was empty. No teen vigilantes, and no bloody-nosed giant. Panic gripped his heart in an icy grip. "Where-?"

"Here," Robin's voice answered, seemingly out of nowhere. He and Batgirl appeared a moment later; both of them breathing hard as if they had just run for their lives. "We don't have much time. Electric shock works – it reverted Bloody-Nose back to normal. But it took the full charge of both our tasers and now we're out of juice. So now we're going to have to do it another way."

"We can't just get them to stick their fingers in an AC outlet," Artemis pointed out, gesturing at the near-black night. "The power's out."

"Kind of," Robin replied cryptically. "We're going to have to get all three of them in one place and zap them all at once."

Batgirl sat up straight as if a cold shiver had just run up her spine. "The power needed to do that-"

"I know," Robin cut her off. "Here's the plan."

* * *

_Batman? Batman, can you hear me?_

Slowly, Bruce dragged himself back to consciousness, wondering why Superman's irritating voice was prattling in his ear. His head was thumping like the hangover from hell, and his chest felt as if he had just been run over with a battering ram. He opened his eyes; wincing as something bright sparked above him, and then took in the starry sky above.

" _Batman?"_

Fragments of memory came back to Bruce as he pushed himself onto his elbows and studied his surroundings. He was lying in what remained of the east wing of the school; the roof blasted out of existence along with pretty much everything else. A scorched bookcase lay across his chest, which he managed to lift off himself and shove to one side, allowing him to climb to his feet. Aside from the concussion and a heck of a lot of bruises, he was otherwise unharmed; the armour of his Bat-suit protecting him from the blast.

Superman continued to try and garner his attention, and purely to shut him up, Batman raised a hand to his ear and activated his communicator. "I hear you."

" _Are you alright?"_ Superman asked as Batman sifted through the wreckage. He lifted a desk that had been rammed against a wall, revealing a chargrilled corpse. The melted frames of round-lensed spectacles hung where the nose might have been once, the pale skin cooked red and black. It was a relatively safe assumption that it was Professor Strange; but it wouldn't be the first time that the psychiatrist had faked his death to escape the Dark Knight. _"Batman?"_

"I'm fine."

" _Good,"_ Superman replied. _"Then get out here."_

Leaving the corpse behind, Batman straightened and began picking his way through the rubble; heading in the general direction of the main quad. In the distance he could hear a roar like a wild animal, making him quicken his pace as much as he was able, until a beep on his communicator alerted him to an outside call. "Agent A?"

" _Good evening, sir,"_ Alfred greeted. _"I understand that you are busy, but I thought it prudent to inform you that there is an incident occurring in Old Gotham."_

"What kind of incident?" Batman grunted as he climbed over a broken beam. Sounds of battle began anew as the animal bellowed loudly from the main quad. Whatever was going on out there was clearly giving the League a run for their money; but Gotham would always be Batman's priority.

" _I'm not entirely sure, sir,"_ Alfred replied. _"I am receiving reports of several large assailants destroying the southern sector. The police have cordoned off the area and are focusing on the refugees fleeing from the scene."_

Batman paused, one ruined corridor away from the quad. "Then who's handling the attackers?"

Alfred cleared his throat uncomfortably. _"Witnesses are saying that there was a girl dressed as a bat on the scene, sir."_

 _Damnnit Barbara._ Batman internally growled, already calculating how long it would take him to get back to Gotham to bail her out. But that plan fell out of his head as he finally reached the doors and stepped out into the quad.

Towering fifteen ft above him was the unmistakable, if unnaturally huge, form of the Mad Hatter. Dressed in his tweed jacket with his giant top hat adding several more feet to his height, the Alice in Wonderland themed villain growled – revealing himself to be the source of the animalistic howls. As Batman stood there taking everything in, the Mad Hatter swatted Wonder Woman out of the sky; the Amazonian warrior leaving a sizeable dent in the concrete where she landed.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Batman informed Alfred before cutting the connection.

Batgirl would have to wait. There was a gigantic Mad Hatter to deal with.

* * *

The ground continued to rumble as if there were an earthquake, even after the shock wave of the explosion past. M'gann pulled out of Connor's arms even though she was exhausted and longed for his comfort. She reached out with her telepathy, trying to see if anyone knew what in the world was going on.

That was when she accidentally stumbled upon the creature's mind. Agony exploded in her head as she felt it's pain; her thoughts becoming scrambled as its confusion affected her. She felt angry, betrayed, lost and in _so_ much pain. She felt... _stretched?_ As if she were being pulled apart; the world looking so small around her as she looked down on it from an impossible height. She saw the League as tiny, insignificant specks, rage boiling within her as they attacked her...no... _it_... not _her..._

"M'gann!" Connor yelled, his voice snapping her back to reality. She blinked up at him, feeling oddly small after seeing the world through a giant's perspective. Next to him, Zatanna had shuffled forward, both of them watching her in concern. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"There's something..." M'gann furrowed her brow, trying to figure out just _what_ it was that she had connected with. And then a creature roared like something prehistoric, and all three of them were up and moving to investigate. They stumbled out into the main quad and staggered to a stunned stop.

Smoke from the blown-up half of the school billowed into the sky; small fires dotted throughout the wreckage. Aside from the crackle of flames, there was complete silence. The League, the news crews by the gate, the recently freed students and staff – all of them stood and stared at the monster in their midst.

Rising from the remains, was the Mad Hatter. A _huge_ version of the Mad Hatter.

With one long stride, the Hatter left the crater of the school and stepped into the quad. The thunderous pounding of his foot hitting concrete broke the silence and suddenly the spectators remembered how to move. The students screamed and tried to run, colliding with each other in their panic and stampeding like a wild herd.

"We've got to-" Zee started. She stepped towards the giant Mad Hatter and then faltered as Superman and Wonder Woman double-teamed him from both sides making the Hatter bellow in pain. High above, three news helicopters hovered, filming the whole thing. What _could_ they do? They were just normal teenagers on a League battlefield of epic proportions. They couldn't be seen using their own powers – they couldn't even be seen as being too familiar with the League... all they could do was...

"Help the students!" Connor shouted over the growing cacophony. He launched himself forward into the middle of the stampede, grabbing a girl that had fallen around the waist, saving her from being trampled by her own classmates.

M'gann and Zatanna shared a look, and then followed suit, wading into the chaos and trying to bring some order.

They didn't have to be heroes to be heroic.

* * *

As far as crazy plans went – this one was definitely in Robin's Top 10. And judging by the apprehensive looks that the others were giving him, it was a pretty safe bet that they were thinking the exact same thing.

"You know what to do," Robin concluded. "Go."

Batgirl shot him one last worried look and handed him her spare grapnel gun. She and Artemis then disappeared into the shadows until it was time for them to play their part. Robin offered a hand to Kid Flash to help him up. "Come on then, Peg Leg."

Kid Flash scowled, but accepted the proffered hand, the pair of them somehow managing to stand on the three good legs that they had between them. The speedster hissed in pain, but bit down everything else, which Robin had to admit was impressive. His own pain threshold was being severely tested with every movement, his abused ribs feeling as though they were stabbing him with every breath.

They staggered into the alleyway where Bloody-Nose had been trapped (now free, human, and God knew where), Robin taking his borrowed grapnel and studying the apartment building for his best target. Kid Flash looked from Robin, to the roof, and back again. "Are you sure-?"

"Brace yourself."

Robin fired the grapnel and retracted the line, his other arm hooked tightly around Kid Flash. He had known that it was going to hurt; but that didn't really prepare him for the pure agony that burned across his chest as they propelled upwards. They tumbled onto the roof; Robin having the sense of mind to ease Kid Flash's landing, even as bright sparks flashed before his eyes.

They both lay there panting for a moment; looking up at the storm clouds brewing above them as the cold of the asphalt beneath them seeped through their uniforms. Kid Flash propped himself up on his elbows. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Robin snapped, flipping to his feet to prove his point.

Kid Flash raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying his bullshit. "I am officially banning you from ever saying those words ever again."

Robin just rolled his eyes and took stock of their surroundings. Below, Plaid Shirt and his buddies fumbled about, looking lost without civilians to scare or midget heroes to squish. Nearby, Artemis and Batgirl were waiting, ducking behind a pick-up for cover. On the roof of the building adjacent to the apartment complex, a large water tower balanced on metal spokes. Everything was lit by the intermittent sparks of the downed transformer, the loosed cable flitting and jumping like a really angry snake.

And so No. 3 on Robin's Crazy Plan list had been formed.

"Stay here," he instructed.

Kid Flash shrugged. "Where else am I going to go?"

Robin smirked as he backed up for his running start. The distance spanning the alley between the two buildings was an easy leap when he was in good shape. It was a little tougher at the moment though. With a deep breath he broke into a sprint and launched himself off of the edge of the parapet, barely clearing the gap. He hit gravel and skidded into an ungainly roll, coming up in a crouch and gritting his teeth to contain a groan of pain.

" _You good?"_ Kid Flash asked over the radio.

"I'm fine."

" _I told you that you were banned from say-"_ Robin tuned him out as he focused on the task at hand. From his belt he pulled some low grade explosives, running the numbers in his head as to their best placement on the water tower's support. He had to get it right first time – there wouldn't be a second chance. With the bombs in place and the detonators set, phase one was compete.

The leap back to where Kid Flash was waiting wasn't so hard the second time. His body seemed to have come to the conclusion that Robin knew that he was in pain and just didn't care, so it had decided to stop telling him about it. Something for which he was eternally grateful.

"Are you sure about this?" Kid Flash asked, concern permeating his voice. "The voltage-"

"My suit's insulated," Robin interrupted as he crouched beside the parapet, the detonator held tightly in his gloved hand. Nearby, the power line hissed mockingly as if it knew about the crazy stunt that he had planned. Robin gritted his teeth. "I'll be fine."

Kid Flash huffed in annoyance. "I'm starting a swear jar. Every time you say that you are 'fine' or will be 'fine' you put a dollar in the pot."

"Ward of a billionaire," Robin pointed out.

"Okay, $100 for each time you say it," Kid Flash conceded. "And don't think I won't enforce this. It will go towards my college fund."

Robin gave a short laugh before sobering and focusing on the insanity that was about to follow. He activated his radio. "BG, Arty – you're up. Remember to get clear as soon as possible."

" _Yeah, yeah, we hear ya Crazy Man,"_ Artemis retorted, her sarcasm unable to hide the worry in her tone. The _twang_ off an arrow being released echoed in the silence, followed by a whistle and a bang. Plaid Shirt barked in annoyance, and instantly the girls had the attention of all three of the giants.

Batgirl and Artemis kept hitting the giants with batarangs and arrows, keeping their distance as they backed up towards the alley. The giants roared in outrage and frustration, clearly wanting to squish the pesky little heroes and stop them from irritating them, but unable to get close enough without another flash-bang pushing them backwards. The monsters had to be both deaf and blind by now with all the incendiaries that had exploded in their faces; but they kept coming after the girls as they yelled random insults that had Kid Flash rolling with laughter.

But Robin didn't pay attention to the cat-calls that reverberated over their radios. He was double checking his math, mentally marking the spot where the giants needed to be before his set off the explosives. Below, Batgirl and Artemis were about half way down the alley... just a little further...

_Now._

The blast of the explosives was barely louder than the flash-bangs that had been assaulting the giants; but they seemed to realise that it had come from somewhere else, all three of them looking up to investigate. Batgirl and Artemis took that as their cue to scarper, the pair of them vanishing milliseconds before a torrent of water cascaded over the edge of the roof.

The giants looked confused and mildly affronted by the several gallons of water that drenched them like a tropical rainstorm. Perhaps it had been a while since they had experienced a shower. But Robin didn't stop to watch. He ran over to where the power line still danced and sparked, timing and predicting its movements.

"Are you sure-?" Kid Flash tried one last time.

Robin ignored him. It was a bit late for second thoughts now. He grabbed the power line as it arced back up, practically falling into his grip; the heat threatening to burn through his gloves. "Clear?" he asked through gritted teeth.

" _Clear."_ Artemis confirmed reluctantly.

Robin jumped off the roof, power line in tow. Just throwing it over the edge wouldn't have guaranteed that it would reach the giants – leaving Robin no choice but to take it with him as he dropped onto the giants waiting below. He smacked into something solid.

The world flashed white; and then a wall of darkness slammed into him.

* * *

Billy Batson arrived late to the party.

He had been stuck in detention when the League call had come in, and by the time that he had convinced his teacher that he desperately needed to use the loo and _really_ had to go, he figured that the battle would be over. But he had yelled _Shazam!_ regardless, transforming into Captain Marvel and shooting up the East Coast with the Speed of Mercury behind him.

The League call had said something about mind-controlled students – but that wasn't the threat that greeted Captain Marvel as he descended above Happy Harbour High.

A huge dude wearing a tweed jacket and top hat was totally trashing everything; the League struggling to keep the guy contained while the last of the civilians got out of harms way. The Cap had known that the Mad Hatter was a freakazoid, but this was a whole new level of weird.

Not really knowing what else he could do, Captain Marvel hovered just at the edge of the action, trying to figure out what was going on before he dove right in and screwed up – he was working on his patience and thinking skills. Mixed results so far, but he knew a delicate situation when he saw one, so he watched and waited for his moment.

Superman and Wonder Woman were trying to pound the guy, but their attacks didn't seem to be having much impact. Superman hit the giant with a right hook that probably would have shattered the moon, while Wonder Woman swooped in and drop-kicked him in the gut, but the giant merely staggered back a little, holding his stomach like the Amazonian had given him a tummy-ache. The Hatter could take a hit, that was for sure.

Considering what little effect the big guns were having; Captain Marvel had no idea what the others thought they could do. Black Canary let loose a Canary Cry in the Hatter's ear, driving him towards Red Tornado who attacked him with twin cyclones; but it still didn't seem to be doing anything more than irritating the monster.

And then Batman and Green Arrow stepped up.

Captain Marvel almost laughed (though thankfully he managed to reign in that urge). He had mad respect for the two heroes; they were totally awesome and Batman scared the holy crap out of him – but he just couldn't figure what it was that they thought they could do to help. And then they pulled out the tasers and Captain Marvel cracked up.

Thank God nobody heard him.

Because the damned tasers worked. Sort of.

The Mad Hatter arched back and screamed as an electrified arrow embedded itself into his forearm at the same time as Batman's taser connected with his shin. It was a blood-curdling cry that made the Cap shiver as if someone had just walked over his grave. It was full of pain, an agonised wail that made them all freeze in shock.

And then the most disgusting thing Captain Marvel had ever seen happened. With a sound like someone slurping through a straw, the Mad Hatter's arm – from elbow to fingertips – and leg – from knee to ankle – shrunk. Hanging from the end of the giant's chunky biceps was a tiny human sized forearm, which was freaky enough, but then there was his leg. His thigh and foot were still gigantic; but in between was a tiny, itsy-bitsy stick.

Off balance, the Mad Hatter fell. His little stick-shin snapped.

_That's just nasty._

"Electricity!" Wonder Woman declared, apparently not in the slightest bit bothered by the gruesome display that they had just witnessed. The Mad Hatter whimpered in pain where he had landed in a heap on top of the already mostly-destroyed school. "Hit him again!"

Batman scowled at his taser as Green Arrow gestured at his quiver. "That's all we got," the archer replied.

"We'd need more power anyway," Batman added. Slowly, the Mad Hatter began to rise again, cautiously climbing on to his good leg as his significantly shorter one dangled beneath him; the oversized foot seemingly holding purely by his skin. Even as he stood, ready to get revenge for his disfigured state, none of the Leaguers tried to hit him again. He just looked so pathetic with his mismatched limbs, none of them had the heart to hurt him anymore than necessary.

"Where would we get enough power to revert him back with one hit?" Aquaman asked, warily watching the Hatter.

Captain Marvel was just wondering the same thing, when Batman seemed to notice his presence for the first time. The Dark Knight gave him a pointed look.

 _Oh._ The Cap realised rather belatedly. He just happened to have a super-powered magic lightning bolt ready to respond at his word. That would probably do it.

"On it!" Captain Marvel declared heroically. "One massively powerful electric shock coming right up!"

The other Leaguers had the sense to get out of his way as he flew straight at the Mad Hatter and collided with the giant's chest. He knocked the Hatter backwards, but before they had had much chance to fall, he yelled at the top of his voice "SHAZAM!"

The lightning bolt came out of the clear night sky and struck him with the force of Superman's punch. He felt the power course through him, setting every nerve end on fire as it used him as a channel and smacked into the Mad Hatter as well. He put as much concentration and effort into it as he ever had, letting go of all of the voltage that hit Captain Marvel like power draining out of a battery.

And then Billy Batson was falling to the earth.

"I've got you, Billy," Wonder Woman said reassuringly as she caught him in her arms. _Wow, she's so hot,_ Billy thought deliriously, every muscle aching as if he had just gone through a full-body workout. Wonder Woman smiled. _Oh God, please tell me I didn't say that out loud._

When they landed on the ground, Wonder Woman set him on his feet, and he felt rather smug about the fact that he managed to stay there. His head was swimming and all he wanted to do was to go home and collapse on his bed, but he figured that even as his alter-ego he should at least try and keep up appearances in front of the League. "Did it work?"

"Yeah, kid," the Flash replied, thumbing over his shoulder at the collapsed normal-sized Mad Hatter that was being watched by both Red Tornado, Black Canary and Aquaman. "Nice job."

Billy grinned, incredibly glad that it was all over.

"Four more of these things attacked Old Gotham," Batman announced grimly, making every gathered Leaguer look at the Dark Knight, completely stunned. "I've just been told that all four of them were neutralised by Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis."

Flash and Green Arrow immediately straightened. "Where are they?" the archer demanded.

"Are they alright?" the speedster added.

Batman just scowled apprehensively.

* * *

Batgirl watched Robin jump off of the roof just as she and Artemis rappelled onto it. She rolled onto her feet and sprinted to the parapet, leaning over just as a painfully bright flash blinded her. She staggered back and blinked until her vision cleared, and then she tried looking again.

Lying in the alley were three bodies – Plaid Shirt and his buddies back to normal size and groaning, dazed and confused by their sudden shrinking act. Gradually they sat up and took in the fact that they were soaking wet and steaming slightly; and then they shared a look, climbed to their feet, and scarpered. Batgirl let them go, not overly concerned about them anymore.

She was far more interested in where the frick Robin had gone.

" _Owww..."_

The low moan of pain was coming from directly below her, so she flipped herself over the ledge and thudded onto what remained of the fire escape. It shuddered under her added weight, but seemed to be holding, so she began descending the ladders until she reached the first-floor platform. And that was where she found Robin.

He was crumpled against the brick wall, his legs caught over the warped railing, as if he had hit the metal hard enough to bend it. His hands were facing palm-up by his sides like a ragdoll, his gloves burned back to their final layer of protective material; some patches even melted through enough to reveal his scorched skin beneath. He was smoking, the faint white wisps fading into the night, and his hair was sticking up all over the place. He wasn't moving.

"Oh God, Robin!" Batgirl exclaimed as she skidded by his side and cupped a hand to his cheek. He was breathing, but it sounded wrong – his breath coming out in uneven puffs that turned to vapour in the cold air. His eyes were closed behind the mask, and as she lightly patted his cheek he didn't respond. "Robin... Robin, come on! Robin wake up!"

Something ached within her that she couldn't identify, as panic made her hands roam from his face to his chest and back again – confirming that he was really breathing. Beneath the mask and the armour was her best friend; her irreplaceable geeky midget who never failed to make her laugh, and understood her in a way that no one else did. When she looked at Robin she saw someone mysterious and appealing to her; but now she could see Dick underneath – and maybe those feelings didn't just apply to Robin...

"Come on, Dick," she whispered, brushing her thumb over his cheek. "Please wake up."

"No... real names... BG..."

Batgirl grinned as his eyes finally opened, just about holding herself back from smothering him in a hug. She didn't think that he would appreciate it in his current state. He shifted slightly, testing various body parts for functionality, before deciding that he was whole enough to sit up properly on his own. The fire escape groaned in complaint, but thankfully remained fixed to the wall.

"What happened?" Robin asked once he had untangled his legs from the railing. He winced and looked down at his burned hands, confusion evident on his face even with the mask. _How hard did he hit his head?_

"You zapped the giants, but got thrown back into the wall," Batgirl explained, purposely being vague and hoping that he could fill in the gaps on his own.

Robin blinked, silent for a moment as he put his memory back together. "It worked?"

"Yep."

"Awesome."

The fire escape dropped a few inches, the platform becoming a shallow slope and threatening to send them to the concrete below. The two heroes shared a look. "Maybe we should get outta here." Batgirl suggested.

Robin nodded and tried to stand, but Batgirl caught him before he could collapse again. She hooked her arm under his, taking some of his weight as they began the climb back up to the roof. It was awkward, particularly when it came to navigating the narrow ladders, but they eventually made it to the top where Kid Flash and Artemis were waiting. The relief was evident on their faces as Batgirl helped Robin over the parapet.

"I'm having you committed." Artemis declared as Batgirl and Robin slumped against the ledge. "Because you are actually insane."

"Hey, it worked... didn't it?" Robin retorted, having to pause for breath in the middle; something which made Kid Flash, Artemis and Batgirl study him in concern. Robin rolled his eyes. "You had... a better idea?"

Artemis huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "I guess that I should be used to you and your crazy plans by now."

Robin smirked, which Batgirl took to mean that it was an inside joke. She shifted slightly where she had landed, finding that she was pressed right up against Robin's side, his arm still slung over her shoulders. This realisation totally did not make her blush. At all. "So, uh..." she muttered, trying to distract herself from their proximity. "What now?"

"I'd love some painkillers," Kid Flash said off-handedly as he tried to hide a grimace. Artemis took his hand and squeezed, the couple sharing a look that made Batgirl a little jealous. They were just so comfortable with each other – way past the awkward stage that she and Robin may or may not be in. "Anyone know an awesome ninja butler that has some?"

Robin raised a hand to his ear, activating his radio. "Robin to Batcave – Alfie, you there?" There was a pause as he waited for a response. "Any chance you... could send the batwing... to my location?" Robin winced as Batgirl imagined Alfred asking why they would need the plane, and what they were doing in Old Gotham. "Oh, nothing. Just a couple of giants. Nothing we couldn't handle. Thanks Alfie." He disconnected the call. "Five minutes."

"Good, I'm tired," Artemis grumbled. "How many rooms does your place have again? A bazillion?"

Robin scoffed, ignoring the light jibe. "Mass sleepover?"

"We could make it a double date!" Kid Flash suggested excitedly. Batgirl and Robin both flushed scarlet.

Artemis and Kid Flash cracked up.

* * *

Bane was beginning to understand just what his patron saw in the Bat's sidekick. The boy had taken charge, analysing the situation and finding an effective (if slightly suicidal) method of resolving it. The Boy Wonder most certainly had guts, brains and skill – but Bane still did not fully comprehend what his patron desired the boy for.

"Fantastic," she murmured appreciatively. "I knew that I had chosen well."

"Chosen well for what, _mi señoría?"_ Bane asked curiously. "What do you want the Bat's _niño_ for?"

His patron smirked smugly at him, dragging her gaze away from the four teens resting on the rooftop. The near silent rumble of the Dark Knight's stealth jet approached from the north. "You have been an excellent assistant, Bane. I have come to appreciate your services."

Bane straightened, instantly wary of the dangerous glint in his patron's eyes. _"_ _ _Gracias,__ _mi señoría."_

"The good Doctor will not allow himself to be captured," his patron continued as if he had hadn't spoken. "He will use Tetch as part of his escape plan; and what will be left of the Hatter will barely be a bother to anyone anymore. This leaves me with but one loose end to tie off before I begin."

Bane wasn't dumb. He knew exactly where this was going; his masked eyes already mapping escape routes and contingencies. __"Mi__ _señoría..."_

"Do you resent my dominance over you?" his patron asked, and then scoffed lightly. "What a pointless question. You are male. Of course you resent being bested by a woman. Perhaps I could have used your feelings of inferiority to better control you, but I find that you have a tendency to ask too many questions. You should work on that for next time, Bane."

"Next time?" Bane questioned suspiciously.

His patron smiled warmly. "I am a believer in second chances."

She struck him with such speed and force that he didn't have a chance to react. Suddenly he couldn't breathe, his throat abused by a punishing blow, before his legs were swept out from under him. He hit the rooftop with a resounding thump that blasted away any remaining air from his lungs. His patron knelt one knee on his chest, pressing her weight onto his ribcage and preventing him from even trying to draw breath.

She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "But you have to earn it."

Her left hand found the controls for his venom supply built into his glove, the current flowing into his brain jacked up way beyond a healthy level. He felt his body begin to swell and grow, the excruciating pain of expanding muscles and strengthening bones driving all rational thought from his mind. An agonised yell tore from his throat as his patron chuckled above him.

"Perhaps if you recover," she said, her voice swimming in and out of focus along with her face. "I may grant you that second chance."

She stood and straightened her coat. _"_ _ _Buenas__ _ _noches__ _,_ Bane."

* * *

"Master Bruce," Alfred greeted as Batman, Green Arrow and Flash barrelled into the cave. He nodded cordially at the other gentlemen heroes and then gestured to the medical alcove behind him. "Mister West and Miss Crock are just through there."

"Thanks Alfie," Barry Allen said as he pulled down his scarlet cowl and headed straight for his nephew. Oliver Queen followed closely behind, their worry clearly etched on their faces. They paused in the archway as they took in the sight of Wally lying on the gurney, his leg wrapped in a thick cast and several tubes trailing from his arm. Artemis had fallen asleep in the seat beside him, her head cushioned on folded arms on the edge of the thin mattress.

Barry was beside Wally's side in an instant, brushing back unruly red locks as he studied the equipment around them. He turned his questioning gaze back on the butler.

"Mister West's leg is broken in three places," Alfred explained. He could sense Bruce behind his shoulder, concerned about the teens' conditions but also eager to see to his own ward. "I had to re-break the bones in order to set them correctly, but I don't foresee any complications. I don't pretend to understand his accelerated healing, but I suspect that the young sir will be running again in a few weeks at most."

"And Artemis?" Oliver asked, his domino mask still in place but his hood pulled down to reveal the billionaire beneath. Artemis stirred slightly at the mention of her name, but thankfully didn't wake. The four teenagers had been exhausted upon their arrival – they needed their sleep. Even if Alfred would prefer that the young miss had chosen a horizontal surface on which to rest.

"A few cuts and scrapes," Alfred reassured. Oliver nodded in relief.

"Where's Robin?" Bruce asked, his panic barely concealed behind the thin veneer of calm. Alfred resisted the urge to smile – it was about time that Bruce paid attention to his eldest son. Before things became irreparable between the two of them.

"He is in his room, sir," Alfred explained instead, unsurprised when the Bat turned and vanished at the news. Alfred politely excused himself from the room, leaving the two Leaguers to their protégés before he followed after Bruce.

By the time that he had caught up to Bruce, his eldest charge was hesitating outside of Master Richard's door. Alfred approached him carefully, his eyes flickering to the room across the hall where Master Jason was unlikely to be sleeping. Perhaps it was not his wisest decision to put the two boys in such close proximity.

"Miss Gordon is staying in one of the guest rooms," Alfred said, trying to distract Bruce from whatever hesitations and worries kept him from entering is son's room. "I called her father to let him know that she had fallen asleep while helping Master Richard with his catch-up studies, and had decided to stay the night."

Bruce nodded, accepting the story, though still unable to even open the door.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred questioned.

"He thinks that I replaced him, Alfred," Bruce said quietly, wary of the occupant across the hall. "With Barbara and Jason. How could he _think_ that?"

Alfred pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Do you remember, sir, when Master Richard first came to live in this house?" he asked, earning a nod in reply. "He was a scared little boy that had lost everything and couldn't quite believe that someone could possibly want him. He spent months with his things packed just in case you decided to change your mind about taking him in. Perhaps that fear isn't as conquered as we all believed."

Bruce's gaze dropped to the floor as he considered the butler's words. "He's irreplaceable, Alfred."

"I know this," Alfred agreed. "But does he?"

Bruce sighed softly, and then quietly opened the door, throwing the butler one last grateful look before slipping inside. Alfred waited by the slight opening, watching as Bruce gently sat down on the edge of Dick's bed and brushed the hair back from his forehead. Dick stirred at the touch, squinting in the low light as took in the form of his guardian above him. "Bruce?"

"Hey kiddo," Bruce muttered quietly.

Alfred smiled and backed away from the door, just in time to catch Master Jason's door clicking shut.


	13. Part Thirteen

Fourteen Leaguers assembled around the conference table in the Watch Tower, their grim expressions illuminated by the holo-screens before them. Batman studied them each in turn; only half listening to Superman as the Kryptonian briefed them all on recent events.

"...the attempted kidnapping of both Artemis and Kid Flash," Superman was saying, "in their civilian IDs, which prompted us to put them and their families in hiding. We are nearly certain that Artemis' kidnapping was directly connected to the attack on Happy Harbour High; the tech behind which was created by the Mad Hatter. We believe that he wanted Artemis as some sort of prize, or maybe as an incentive to get him to work with Professor Strange."

 _"Professor_ Strange?" Blue Beetle, aka Ted Kord, spoke up. He was a recent addition to the League, having literally just joined a few days before everything had happened. Batman eyed him suspiciously, not liking his coincidental timing. "Sorry, I'm a bit behind on the reading. Wasn't there a _Warden_ Strange at Belle Reve? Wasn't he working for the Light?"

Black Canary nodded. "They are one and the same. Warden Strange took the new alias of Dr Grantes and established himself as the school's counsellor. We assume that having somehow learned Zatanna, Connor and/or M'gann's identities he put a plan into motion to get revenge. It was the team that essentially brought down the Light after all, I'm sure that Strange didn't appreciate that."

"Okay," Blue Beetle accepted, and then gestured at his computer. "But it says here that Warden Strange committed suicide. He jumped into the East river, but we got a DNA match off of the remains, right?"

"A 72% match was made," Batman explained. "But the body was too decomposed to make a solid ID. It is not the first time that Strange has faked his death to escape incarceration either. He used to be a doctor at Arkham Asylum under the name Professor Strange."

Blue Beetle raised an eyebrow. "But this time he's really dead?"

"The body was burned beyond recognition by the explosion," Flash answered, as their resident forensics expert. "We have made an 89% match this time and confirmed his ID with dental records. We cannot completely rule out the possibility that the death was faked, but it would appear that yes, this time Strange is really dead."

Batman had his own suspicions about that though. He had been practically standing right next to Strange when the bomb had been detonated, and yet he had barely been singed whereas Strange had been cremated. Yes, he had had his especially armoured suit which saved him from the blast – but how did Strange get so crispy?

"What of the Mad Hatter?" Aquaman asked. "How did he fare following his return to normal size?"

Batman shared a look with Superman and Martian Manhunter, both of whom shifted uncomfortably in response. "The Hatter is..." Superman tried to find the words to explain, but came up empty. "Well, he's..."

Martian Manhunter cleared his throat. "Following the events at Happy Harbour High, the Hatter was remanded into League custody, where I was charged with interrogating him. However, he didn't have much to say..."

* * *

J'onn J'onzz stepped out of the zeta tube and into the low lighting of the Watch Tower, his body taking a moment to adjust to the artificial gravity. Batman and Superman were already there waiting for him, neither of them looking very happy. "Where s the Hatter?" he asked, forgoing formalities.

"Interrogation One," Batman replied shortly. "He's not talking."

"Well, not anything that makes any sense anyway," Superman corrected.

J'onn furrowed his brow in confusion, but decided against asking questions in favour of just seeing for himself. He followed the other two men through the corridors until they reached the high security area at the base of the satellite. They stopped just outside of the room, looking through the window at the once-giant mad man within.

The Mad Hatter occupied one of the two chairs that made up the only furniture in the room, his left leg braced in a heavy cast and a few cuts recently stitched across his face. He worried the brim of his signature top hat in his hands, chewing his bottom lip and muttering under his breath. J'onn threw the other two Leaguers a questioning look.

"He's fried," Superman answered. "Whatever was down to him has crossed all the wire in his brain. We're hoping that you can get through to whatever's left."

"We need to know how much he remembers," Batman added. "If there was anyone else involved, if there was anything more planned-"

" _Beau-ootiful Soo—oop!"_ The Hatter broke into song, throwing his head back and belting out the Mock Turtle song from the Lewis Carroll book. " _Soo-oop of the e—e-evening-_ no wait! That's not my song. Do I have a song? Oh yes! _Twinkle, twinkle little-"_

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"...but there was nothing left," Martian Manhunter explained to the group of Leaguers. "The process of being transformed into a monster and reverted back has left him regressed to a childlike state. He knows nothing beyond his obsession with Alice in Wonderland."

"So he doesn't remember who Artemis is?" Black Canary inquired.

"No, his mind is almost a complete blank," Martian Manhunter confirmed, the visible tension lining both Black Canary and Green Arrow's shoulders instantly lessening. "The Hatter is now at Arkham for treatment, though I highly doubt that his condition is reversible."

"What of the others that were transformed?" Captain Atom asked. "The ones that were attacking Gotham?"

"We have been unable to locate them," Batman grudgingly admitted. "It is suspected that they were homeless people from the Rhode Island area, making it hard to get an ID on them. We are still looking, though if they are as damaged as the Hatter then they are unlikely to have any new intel."

Wonder Woman shot him a pointed look. "But we _are_ going to find them and help them anyway."

"Of course," Superman agreed. Batman rolled his eyes beneath the cowl, irritated that they thought him heartless when he was merely being practical. He did care what happened to the four ex-giants, he just didn't feel that their well-being was pertinent to the current conversation. They were here to discuss the case, after all, not a humanitarian mission. But then again, maybe the others were still worried over the PR disaster that was the live broadcast of the Justice League vs. a bunch of kids.

A pensive silence settled over the assembly as they considered things, eventually broken by Black Canary. "How mad is the school since the Hatter flattened it?"

"They're not happy," Superman replied, which was a massive understatement. "They sent us the bill."

"The entire west wing was destroyed in the explosion, half the main building was crushed; the foundations need assessing to see if they are still stable and the main quad area is pitted with bullet holes," Green Arrow read the list of complaints from his holo-screen. He then smirked and shot Black Canary a look. "Oh, and eighty-six windows need replacing."

Black Canary rolled her eyes, seemingly unperturbed by her power's collateral damage.

"Our liaison in the government has promised the school board a grant to cover some of the repairs," Superman continued. "And Wayne Tech and Queen Industries have offered to help with the rest, so on that front, the school board is satisfied."

"What about the students?"Martian Manhunter asked. "There were no casualties?"

Wonder Woman sighed. "No, thank Hera, there were no serious injuries. But we have received a number of complaints from parents which we are trying to smooth over at the moment. All things considered..."

* * *

" _...it could have been a lot worse,"_ Cat Grant reported live from outside the building site that was once Happy Harbour High. _"A lot of bloodshed was avoided thanks to the Justice League's prompt response to the..."_

Connor tuned the rest of the news report out as he felt M'gann shift where she was snuggled against his side. The pair of them were alone in the cave as life was slowly beginning to return to normal following the whirlwind of events the week before. But M'gann had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since the attack on the school, and it was starting to worry the clone. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," M'gann muttered so quietly that if it wasn't for his super-hearing he probably wouldn't have heard her. "I'm fine, it's just... never mind."

Connor sat in silence for a moment, waiting for M'gann to say more. When she didn't, he prompted "What's wrong?"

"It's all my fault."

 _Huh?_ Connor wondered, not understanding where his girlfriend's guilty conscience was coming from. How could it be her fault that the school got overtaken by a mad man with mind-control? It wasn't as if they could really do anything once the fighting had started, and even then they did what little they could to help. So why...? "What is?"

"The Mad Hatter," M'gann elaborated. "He was the one attacking the girls at our school. I had noticed that they were all blonde and young – exact matches to the victim profile – but I didn't tell the League. If I had, maybe they could have stopped any of this from happening-"

"M'gann, stop," Connor interrupted. "None of this was your fault. Neither of us thought that the Hatter was in Rhode Island, it didn't make any sense. We had no evidence to take to the League even if we did think it was the Hatter."

M'gann chewed her lip. "I know, but..."

"No," Connor said forcefully. "This wasn't your fault. Don't even think that."

M'gann smiled shyly and rested her head against his shoulder. He held her close to comfort her as Cat Grant continued giving her report on the television.

" _...the whole event appears to have been orchestrated by a school counsellor by the name of Dr Grantes, who joined the faculty here three months ago. Rumours imply that Grantes is actually an alias of the infamous Gotham mad man, Professor Hugo Strange. The relative ease with which a convicted criminal managed to get employed by the school has raised questions within the HR department, as well as concerns with many parents._

" _How many students were seeing the psychiatrist? And just what did he do to them?"_

* * *

"How is Zatanna?" Wonder Woman asked as the conversation strayed back to Professor Strange. "M'gann reported that she was hypnotised as well as under the influence of the Hatter tech. How did that happen?"

Black Canary levelled a look at the Amazonian. "Zatanna was going to see the school counsellor for personal reasons."

"For how long?" Blue Beetle questioned, his eyes glued to his holo-screen until he felt Black Canary's glare burn into the side of his face. He glanced up, looking abashed, and then gestured at the computer. "It's just that Strange and Hatter seemed to know a lot about the League and the team. How did they discover where Artemis was hiding with her mother? Isn't it possible that while under hypnosis she _unintentionally_ shared information?"

Black Canary continued to glare at the beetle-themed Leaguer until Martian Manhunter cleared his throat and spoke up. "It is likely that Zatanna was Strange's source of intel," he admitted, drawing Black Canary's death stare onto himself. "I gave her a cursory examination and discovered a long term hypnotic suggestion activated by the trigger word 'free'."

Superman looked pensive for a moment, before braving Black Canary. "How long was she seeing the counsellor?"

"Since she returned from Thanagar," the team's therapist revealed. "Just under a month."

Superman turned to Martian Manhunter. "Do we know how much information she shared?"

"M'gann is working with her to determine the full extent of the suggestion, and remove any remaining traces," the Martian replied. "But from what I could gather, she told very little. I did learn that Strange was incredibly interested in learning Robin's civilian ID."

Batman instantly straightened in his seat and glared through the lenses of the cowl at the Martian. Manhunter met his gaze and slightly cocked his head to one side, the familiar touch of the mind-link breaching Batman's thoughts.

 _'Do not worry, my friend,'_ Martian Manhunter reassured. _'Zatanna does not know Robin's real name and was therefore unable to tell Professor Strange. His civilian ID is safe.'_

Batman nodded minutely in response. This was one of the very reasons why he insisted upon Robin keeping his identity a secret – even from their allies – in the first place. In his head he ran through all of the people that now knew their true names; including most of the team. The risk of Dick's identity being discovered by the enemy was high. Too high.

"Why would Strange want to know about Robin?" Blue Beetle asked.

"Revenge," Batman replied shortly. "I was the one that destroyed his operation at Arkham Asylum. I expect that he didn't appreciate that."

"Probably not," Blue Beetle agreed.

Black Canary settled back in her seat, looking thoughtful. "Maybe this is why Zee turned Robin into a rabbit."

Captain Marvel burst out laughing. Flash and Green Arrow cracked a smile. Superman looked surprised and Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow. Batman schooled his response into a near-silent grunt, drowned out by Marvel's hysterics. That would explain why there was 4 minutes and thirty-nine seconds of footage missing from the cave's security system last Saturday.

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey," Robin replied tentatively, really hoping that this conversation wouldn't be a repeat of the last one. Zatanna folded her arms across her chest protectively and stared at the floor. "So, uh... how you feeling?"

Zee looked up and studied him, most likely noting his bandaged hands and the way that he was leaning slightly against the wall to keep himself upright. She gave him a small, incredulous smile. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Robin didn't really want to talk about his recent brush with self-electrocution (he had already had the lecture from Bruce _and_ Batman, and Alfred and Wally and...) "I just meant, with the the whole mind-control thing. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Zatanna answered, clearly lying.

 _Huh._ Wally was right. That phrase really was annoying.

"But um... well, about that," Zatanna continued, purposely looking at anything other than him. "I uh, I need to apologise. Dr Grantes – I mean, Professor Strange – he really wanted to know who you are, you know, behind the mask, which is why I was being so um... pushy? I don't know, I was acting like some lovesick schoolgirl and I'm really sorry-"

"Hey, it's okay," Robin interrupted. "You were totally bedazzled. It wasn't you."

Zatanna worried her bottom lip between the teeth. "That's... not strictly true. This past week, sure, that was Strange. And the other day, when I said that I... you know – that was Strange too, but before that? Not so much. I only started seeing Dr Grantes when I came back from Thanagar."

 _Oh._ Robin realised what Zee was getting at. They had been having problems since way before she had left – six months ago. Before the kidnapping at the school, before everything. "So... it really was you – asking all those questions? Wanting to know my real name?"

Zee shrugged helplessly. "I just wanted to know. But now I totally understand why you don't tell people. If I _had_ known, I probably would have told Strange and then what might have happened? So, so I get it, and I don't want to know anymore."

"I trust you, Zee," Robin tried to reassure her.

Zatanna shook her head. "I don't. I told him where Artemis was hiding – I led the Mad Hatter right to her. What if he had taken her? Done things to her? It would have been my fault. And if he had learned about you? If you had shown up on Friday? All because I was trusted with secrets that I couldn't keep?"

"It wasn't your fault..."

"It's okay," Zatanna stopped him with a sad smile. "This, this isn't what I came here to talk about anyway. I'm uh... I'm going back to Thanagar. I just thought it was better if this time we said goodbye."

Robin looked away guiltily, wishing that he had had the guts to just be honest with her six months ago. But Zatanna surprised him by closing the distance between them and pulling him into a hug. After taking a moment to get over the shock, he reciprocated the embrace. "I'm sorry," he said quietly against her shoulder.

"Me too," Zee whispered. "But at least now we can be friends."

* * *

"So Zatanna will be returning to Thanagar?" Aquaman confirmed. "What about the others? Do they need to remain in hiding?"

"We believe that only Professor Strange and the Mad Hatter were aware of Artemis' civilian ID," Wonder Woman replied. "And considering that one of them is dead and the other institutionalised, it would appear that her secret is safe. She has re-enrolled at Gotham Academy for the January term."

"What about Bane?" Captain Atom asked. "He knew about Wally being Kid Flash, didn't he?"

Flash and Green Arrow shared a look. "He won't be telling anyone else," the speedster said darkly, earning several surprised looks from the other Leaguers. Flash glanced at Batman, allowing him to explain.

"Once the Mad Hatter had been neutralised, Flash, Green Arrow and I zeta'd to Gotham to check on our protégés that were reportedly facing four giants of their own," the Dark Knight elaborated. "We found a battlefield. The giants were already defeated and Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis had already left; but we did find what was left of Bane."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Captain Marvel asked.

Green Arrow shrugged. "The guy was cooked. Half his body was out of proportion and all twisted."

"It looks like he overdosed on his own Venom," Flash explained. "He's still alive, somehow, but he's completely deformed and severely brain damaged. He's in an induced coma at Iron Gate prison now."

Blue Beetle looked at his holo-screen thoughtfully for a moment, double checking something before he spoke up. "It says here that Hatter's blood work showed huge quantities of Venom in his system, which is part of what turned him into a giant. Four more attacked Gotham and Bane was found nearby – doesn't that strike anyone else as a little more than coincidence?"

"Bane was working with Strange and Hatter, right?" Black Canary agreed.

Flash nodded. "It looks like Bane and Strange worked together to make the formula to super-size people judging by the science, but there's still a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense. Why did Bane go after Wally? He claimed that it was for his boss, but if his boss was Strange – what did Strange want with Wally?"

"And what was Bane doing attacking Old Gotham while Strange and Hatter were taking us on at the school?" Black Canary added.

No one offered any answers, and Batman kept his suspicions to himself. There was no evidence to suggest that there was anyone else involved; but the fact that all three of the villains charged with planning the assault were all either dead or incapacitated spoke for itself. It was possible that Bane had rebelled against Strange and decided to attack Gotham while he knew that Batman would be otherwise distracted – but how had he managed to overdose on his own Venom? And what was the connection to Kid Flash? A red herring? Or a sign of something more?

Superman was watching him, seemingly waiting for him to speak up. Batman cleared his throat. "It has been agreed that Kid Flash and Artemis no longer need to be kept under protective custody," he said carefully. "But I believe that we still need to be vigilant."

"Of course," Black Canary agreed with a smile. "I bet they'll just be glad to be free again."

* * *

"Wally, slow down before you choke," his mother scolded with a barely concealed smile. Wally shovelled another forkful of pasta into his mouth and grinned, revealing a disgusting mesh of tomato sauce in his teeth to match the flecks that joined his freckles on his cheeks. His mother tutted and passed him a napkin.

Across the table Uncle Barry was trying not to laugh as Aunt Iris jabbed him in the ribs to silence him, while Jay and Joan Garrick merely shared knowing looks. Wally's dad rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you should try chewing while your at it."

Wally revelled in the gentle ribbing his family was giving him, just grateful to have them back after nearly a week of being separated. That might not sound like such a long time for most people, but for a speedster, it was practically an eternity. And an eternity without his Mom's cooking? Unthinkable.

He scoffed down his third helping of dinner as Uncle Barry started to clear the table in a whirlwind, holding out his licked-clean plate just as Barry sped past and yanked it out of his hands. Wally looked around at his family gathered around him and couldn't help the grin that seemed permanently attached to his face.

Man, it was good to be home.

* * *

"What about him?"

Artemis gestured with her coffee mug at the barista behind the counter, both her mother and sister following her line of sight. Jade snorted. "Stealing from the till to pay for acting lessons."

"No way," Artemis disagreed as Jade slurped her coffee and raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Okay, yeah, he's taking acting lessons, but its the other guy that's stealing out of the till. He short changed me $2 and pocketed it."

"And you didn't kick his ass?" Jade scoffed.

"That's considered anti-social behaviour when you're not wearing the tights," Artemis retorted with a sly smile that elicited a small, genuine laugh out of her sister. She could feel her mother watching them both with quiet pride and decided to bring her into the conversation, considering that it was Paula's idea that they meet up for coffee in the first place. "What do you reckon, Mom? Who's right?"

Paula passed the two employees a cursory glance. "Neither of you," she said. "They aren't stealing at all; but the waitress is about to."

Both Jade and Artemis turned their attention to the pretty blonde in a dark uniform and white apron as she approached the till and stuck a few bills into her pocket. The two sisters turned back to their mother, mildly impressed, before all three of them broke into laughter. Artemis hadn't believed her mother when she had said that an outing with just the three of the would be good – she didn't see how it could turn into anything but a shouting match. But she guessed that you learned something new everyday.

Today's lesson: People watching? Great bonding material for ninjas.

* * *

"How is the team now?" Captain Atom asked. "After everything that's happened?"

Black Canary considered the question for a moment. "They're doing okay, I think," she answered eventually. "Their training session last night was the best they've had in a long while. Now that everything has settled down and there is the possibility of them being deployed on missions again, they seem much happier."

She shot Batman a pointed look with that last statement, as if it were entirely his fault that the team had been kept from active duty and not the fact that the bad guys were targeting the teenagers. He met her gaze, but neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of deploying the team any time soon.

"With Rocket and Zatanna continuing their mission with the hawks on Thanagar, the team is down two members," Aquaman pointed out. "Which is why I would like to propose two new members to the roster. Aquagirl and Tempest, two students from the academy and friends of Kaldur'ahm."

"Is now really a good time to be introducing new team members considering everything that's happened?" Blue Beetle questioned.

"There is rarely a good time in the lives that we choose to lead," Aquaman replied. "But I feel that these two are ready to join the fight on the surface world."

Black Canary hummed thoughtfully. "And how does Kaldur feel about this?"

Aquaman furrowed his brow as if he couldn't understand where the question was coming from. "He supports the decision. He has been inducting them to life on land this past week and agrees that they should be allowed a place on the team."

Black Canary nodded, but still did not look completely sold.

* * *

_Recognised: Tempest B10, Aquagirl B11._

Kaldur stood before the zeta tubes with the rest of the team as they waited for the new members to materialise in the cave. To his left stood Connor and M'gann, and to his right was Wally, Artemis and Robin, all of them in their civilian dress and seemingly happy to be about to expand the team.

Which meant that he was supposed to be happy too.

He forced on a polite smile as Tula and Garth stepped into the cave for the first time, ignoring the way that his heart thundered in his chest at the sight of his lost love. Garth held her hand as Tula gave the gathered teens a nervous wave and a bright smile. "Hello."

There was an awkward moment where his team waited for Kaldur to say something, but he couldn't seem to find any words. Thankfully, M'gann jumped forward and gave Garth a huge grin as she pulled Tula into a hug. "It's great to see you guys again!" she said excitedly. "It's going to be brilliant having you on the team!"

Kaldur nodded along with M'gann's enthusiasm as he tried to bury his burgeoning resentment. M'gann introduced the others, who instantly warmed to the Atlanteans. All except Robin that is, who appeared at Kaldur's side with his usual stealth, making the elder teen jump. "Are you alright?" he asked, studying Kaldur out of the corner of his eye as they both smiled at a joke that M'gann was telling.

"I'm fine," Kaldur replied quietly.

Robin gave him a look that clearly said just how much he didn't believe Kaldur for a second. "Careful," he warned. "Wally's started a swear jar for that phrase. I'm $300 down already."

Kaldur had no idea what Robin was talking about, but he found himself laughing regardless, which somehow eased the tension that had settled in the cave since Garth ad Tula's arrival.

This was not going to be easy, but perhaps he could adapt with a little help from a friend.

* * *

"So, the investigation is officially closed?" Blue Beetle asked.

Batman frowned. "There are still some loose ends that require attention," he replied, aware that to his colleagues he appeared paranoid. "Some aspects of the case are too neat, while others do not fit at all. I am not entirely convinced that this completely resolved."

"But for now," Superman added. "Things appear to be settled. Stay on alert as a precaution, of course, but yes, the investigation is closed. Meeting adjourned."


	14. Part Fourteen

It was snowing. Typical.

Jason glared out of the frosted window pane at the quickly whitening grounds around the manor, cursing every deity he knew of for their crappy timing with the weather. He was finally ready to go – supplies stolen, route planned, survival for the next week mostly guaranteed – and then the worst snowstorm in the history of New England decides to hit the East Coast and strand him with the freaks that don't even want him.

If he were superstitious, which he wasn't, he would probably see this as a sign that he was meant to stay; but there was no way that that was going to happen. Bruce... Batman... _whatever..._ had just picked him up out of pity and hadn't actually spoken to him properly since he had pawned Jason off on the butler. And then there was Dick-face who had hated Jason since the moment that they had met. Now the two of them were arguing or ignoring each other intermittently – and Jason was the cause.

He hadn't meant to screw everything up.

But then again, that was what he was good at. _All_ he was good at.

So, stay in the cushy manor with guaranteed warm meals and shelter to go with the family feud he had caused; or, a likely death out there in the clutches of a snowstorm? _Snowstorm. Definitely snowstorm._

Decided, he pulled a jacket over the red hoodie he had adopted as his own and tugged the heavy back-pack full of supplies over his shoulders. He took one last look at the warm room that had served as his halfway house for the past week and a half, and then unlatched the window. Instantly an Arctic wind blasted into the room, freezing his insides despite his attempt to layer up. The first inkling of doubt began to seep through his resolve as he looked down at the icy trellis that would be his exit; but he squashed it flat and swung his leg over the sill.

"Kid? You in there?" A knock sounded at the door. _Dick?_

Jason chewed his lip; trying to figure out whether he should answer or not. Yell at Dick to go away and hope that that didn't make him suspicious? Or stay quiet and pray that he moved on?

He probably should have gone with the first option considering that Dick didn't even wait for an answer. The locked bedroom door suddenly found itself unlocked and wide open, Dick standing in the doorway and taking in everything in less than a millisecond. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Jason half-hanging out of the window; and then _grinned._

Anger coloured Jason's vision in red – he knew that Dick wanted him to leave; but the bastard didn't have to look so damn gleeful about it!

The grin dropped off of Dick's face as he seemed to read Jason's anger despite nothing having been said. He raised both hands in surrender, trying to back-track. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-" he cut himself off, and sighed. "It's just that, I did the _exact same thing_ when I first came here."

Jason blinked, his anger ebbing slightly as he heard something in Dick's tone that he didn't recognise. It wasn't scorn or amusement at his expense, nor was it sympathy or pity. It was... _weird_.

Dick glanced out of the window and shuddered in the cold. "But well, it wasn't snowing then," he continued, "and I made it halfway to the city before Alfred found me with the car and dragged me back."

"What about Bruce?" Jason asked curiously.

"He didn't even know I was gone," Dick shrugged half-heartedly. "He was out on patrol at the time, and Alfred never told him. I don't think he gets what its like. He never left his home like we did."

Jason scoffed. "We? I didn't _have_ a home. I live on the streets."

"You did have a home," Dick disagreed. "Before you lived on the streets, you lived with your Mom."

A crystal-clear image of a run-down kitchen in a shoddy apartment flashed across Jason's mind, but he clamped his eyes shut and shook his head before the memory could go any further. He levelled a glare at Dick, latching onto his anger instead of letting himself feel the pain. "Congrats, you've read my file. That doesn't mean you know me."

"I know," Dick answered quietly. Without permission, the older teen perched himself on the edge of Jason's bed and settled down as if they were about to have a long conversation. Jason snorted and turned back towards the window, fully intent on just jumping into the growing snow drift below.

"Jason," Dick called – the first time that he had actually ever used his real name.

Jason froze. He didn't know why, but he stopped; both legs hanging out of the window and his tenuous grip on the sill the only thing keeping him from falling.

"When Alfred gave you that hoodie, did he tell you the story behind it?"

Jason didn't care – he... he really didn't – but he pulled himself back up so that he was sitting on the ledge. He stared out at the rapidly falling flakes, his back still turned to the elder teen. Almost subconsciously, he buried himself a little deeper into the red hood bundled around his neck, telling himself that it was just the cold and not some sentimental reaction to the other boy's words.

"It wasn't just my parents that died," Dick began, somehow reading Jason's consent to tell the story from his body language. "My aunt, uncle and cousin... they all fell too. I lost my whole family in one night. I had seen the ropes, I knew that the Fall wasn't an accident, and I was angry."

Alfred, in his infinite wisdom of trying to get Jason to understand Dick's reaction to him, had told him a cliff notes version of Dick's story. He knew that Dick had been a circus brat and that his parents were trapeze artists that had been murdered. Alfred had told him how Bruce and Dick, as Batman and Robin, had hunted down the guy behind their murders and had him arrested. The way that Alfred had told it, it sounded like a dark fairy tale that still managed to have a happy ending. But the way that Dick spoke?

"Social services put me in a boy's home because they didn't know what else to do with a gypsy that barely spoke a word of English," Dick said bitterly. "I was different, and traumatised and an easy target."

Jason knew what that was like. A social worker had attempted to put him in a home for a while – he had stayed there for two days before he had had enough and ran away.

"I had seen a man threatening Pop Haly before the Fall and knew that it was him that had done it, and I got a bit obsessed," Dick admitted. "I found out everything I could about him; his criminal record, known associates, favourite hang-outs. And then I hunted him down."

Dick laughed, but it didn't sound happy. Jason glanced back over his shoulder at the older teen, not because he cared or anything, but because it was such an odd laugh.

"I was _nine_ _years old,"_ Dick said derisively, shaking his head as if mocking his own stupidity. Jason didn't think that a nine year old taking on a murderer was all that ridiculous though – he had been stealing car parts and bargaining with shady drug dealers when he was that age – a kid with a circus background and a vendetta probably would have been fine. Dick didn't seem to agree. Jason could feel his eyes boring into his back, and couldn't help but turn around and swing his legs back inside to find out what happened next.

"I was running around Gotham in _that_ red hoodie and a bandanna, beating up bad guys as if I actually knew what I was doing," Dick said with a self-deprecating grin. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper, which Jason found himself craning his neck to try and read. Not that he was interested. In the slightest. "The papers even gave me a name."

Dick held out the cut-out article, waiting for Jason to come away from the window and take it. He knew the trick, Jason wasn't an idiot, but for some reason his legs betrayed him and carried him back into the room. He took the paper and unfolded it, revealing a black-and-white picture of a tiny kid leaping between rooftops; a small headline announcing his debut.

The Red Hood.

"Did you catch the guy?" Jason asked, his voice quiet enough that it was almost stolen away by the howling wind still invited through the open window. "All by yourself?"

Dick laughed again and shook his head. "No, no. I got stabbed trying to win a fight that I didn't have a chance in hell of winning. Batman brought me back to Alfred for medical attention, and then, _eventually,_ we got the guy together."

Jason looked down thoughtfully for a moment, his back-pack suddenly feeling heavy on his shoulders and the warmth promised by the blankets on the bed making the snowstorm seem like a less viable option. "Why did you tell me your story?"

Dick stood and closed the window, and Jason made no move to stop him. He was just grateful to shut out the cold. "So that one day, when you're ready, you can tell me yours," Dick replied with a genuine smile. "And I can know you better than some stupid file."

 _He doesn't want me to leave,_ Jason realised, an unfamiliar feeling making something inside him feel warm. For some reason that he totally couldn't understand, Dick wanted to get to know him, the _real_ him. He wanted them to be friends; maybe even... brothers. And oddly, Jason wanted that too.

His back-pack dropped to the floor with a thud.

* * *

"That cannot be comfortable."

Wally raised an eyebrow at Dick who was currently seated backwards on the couch, with his legs hanging over the back and the holo-screen of his wrist computer glowing mere inches from his face as he dangled over the edge. Considering that Dick was also sporting three broken ribs and several more bruised ones, the position was making Wally wince as if he were the one that had to be in pain.

Dick shrugged.

"Sit up properly," Wally instructed with an eye-roll, offering his hand to the upside-down ninja. "You're making _my_ ribs ache."

With a sigh, Dick took the proffered hand and proceeded to bend himself into an impossible position and twist until he ended up the way a normal person would sit on a couch. Wally's eyes widened in astonishment – sure, he had seen Dick pull off some cool stunts, but what he had just done was beyond freaky. "How _do_ you do that?"

Dick didn't look up from the holo-screen as he gave another shrug. "I don't know, practice I guess. Me and the other kids used to have competitions to see who could contort themselves into the weirdest shapes." He grinned smugly. "I always won."

Wally held his breath a moment, waiting to see if Dick would keep talking, but the younger boy just continued typing away on his computer. Wally was pretty damn sure that Dick had just freely spoken about his life before he had become Robin. Dick didn't do that. Ever. If the circus was brought up in conversation he would just find a way to dance around it. Even the time when Dick had told Wally the tragic back story, he had kept it as vague as possible. He just didn't speak about his old life, at all, no matter how hard Wally tried.

And yet.

"What kids?" Wally asked carefully, even though he had already guessed. He just wanted to see if Dick would say any more before the walls came down.

"Uh," Dick muttered, his eyes finally leaving the holo-screen and trailing to look at something off in the distance. Wally could see his guards coming back up as Dick realised what he had been talking about, but he didn't go silent. "At Haly's," he said quietly. "The kids at Haly's."

Wally nodded, and Dick went back to typing, ending the conversation. But Wally didn't mind, it was the first crack in the impenetrable armour that he had seen, and it gave him hope that one day his honorary little brother might be healed enough to stop pretending that his old life hadn't happened and acknowledge his roots. But for now, this was enough. He wondered what could have brought on this slightly softer element of his best friend, when he realised that, for the first time in a long time, Dick seemed... happy.

"So, how did your talk with the new kid go?" Wally asked knowingly.

"Jason," Dick corrected without looking up. He paused in his typing for a moment as if he were considering his words, and then he said something that seemed completely random to Wally. "Did I ever tell you about before I became Robin, after the Fall?"

Wally furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I thought that Bruce adopted you straight away and made you Robin?"

Dick scoffed slightly, before glancing over his shoulder at the door and then back down at his holo-screen. "That's what everyone thinks," he muttered quietly, before smiling brightly. "Hey Arty."

"Boy Blunder, Boyfriend," Artemis greeted with a nod at each of them, making Wally jump in surprise at her sudden presence. She hovered at the edge of the couch and nodded at the television. "What are we watching?"

Wally got over his shock and slight disappointment that Artemis had interrupted them before he could get any more out of Dick, and then looked at the static on the TV screen. "Supey's favourite channel," he deadpanned.

"Fascinating," Artemis retorted dryly. She gracefully dropped herself onto the empty seat, leaving Dick between the two of them as if she could sense that they were having a moment. Wally wondered if she had been eavesdropping before Dick had outed her with his super-ninja senses, waiting for the right time to come in. She instantly took control of the conversation before any awkwardness could set in. "So, did Zee get to talk to you before she left?"

Dick nodded, surprisingly not glaring at Artemis for bringing up the topic of Zatanna. Wally cocked his head to one side. "Are you two gonna try again, then?"

Artemis snorted, making both Dick and Wally throw her a sideways look. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "But no, Zee said that you guys were breaking up, right?"

"Yeah," Dick agreed, not sounding very upset about the fact that things between them had ended. He gave a half-shrug. "We're just friends."

"And you're good with that?" Wally double-checked.

Dick nodded as he finally switched off his wrist computer and sat back, which Artemis seemed to take as an invitation. She threw Wally a conspiratorial look. "Aww, I think Boy Blunder needs a hug."

Wally grinned and obliged, the pair of them double-teaming Dick from either side and trapping him in an inescapable hug. Dick made a small noise of protest, but considering that he probably could have easily outmanoeuvred them, he didn't put up much of a fight. Wally pulled back as Artemis did, allowing Dick to breathe again. "Do you feel better now?"

Dick rolled his eyes. "I feel violated."

"Ah," Wally said as he looked past Dick and met Artemis' eyes. "I think we crossed the Bat personal-space barrier."

"Something which you have no concept of," Dick retorted, though he was smiling. He gestured at the static still buzzing across the TV screen. "You wanna play video games?"

Wally didn't need asking twice.

* * *

It was the last day before the school broke up for Christmas Break, and unsurprisingly, very few of Gotham Academy's students were spending it in the library. But that was absolutely fine with Dick; it just meant that he and Babs got to hang out and properly talk without having to worry too much about being overheard.

"So, what did the JL think of me taking on four giants?" Babs asked curiously as she pretended to start on her holiday reading. There were only a few other students scattered around the massive space, but they kept their voices down regardless. They had established that they would avoid using names, sticking to acronyms where possible to try and minimise the chance of being caught.

"I don't think B's told them about you," Dick replied with a shrug. "He's still getting flack for bringing me in when I was nine."

Barbara's eyes widened a little as if that fact hadn't really registered with her, despite the fact that she knew that he was Robin, and Robin had been around for over five years. She covered the surprised expression with a frown and folded her arms across her chest. "So I didn't get _any_ credit?"

"Official report says it was just me, KF and A," Dick answered. "B was really impressed with you though. I'm pretty sure that he's going to agree to train you, and then maybe you can join the team."

"Team?" Babs perked up, clearly happy about the possibility of being accepted by the Batman, but also curious. "You three are on a team?"

Dick nodded. "Yep, covert black-ops stuff. There's ten of us now."

Barbara hummed thoughtfully. "Cool," she smiled, and then glanced down at the checklist of reading material that she was meant to have collected and cursed. "Forgot one. I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure," Dick replied, his attention returning to his own work that he was meant to be doing. He shuffled his notes into some semblance of order, checking them against the text book as he went, occasionally scribbling down something extra that he found. And then a shadow fell across him that was way too tall to be Babs.

"Hello, Richard."

Dick looked up to find a woman dressed in a smart business suit standing beside Barbara's abandoned chair. Her dark hair brushed her shoulders and framed her Asian features perfectly. A Gotham Academy staff badge hung from her lapel, but there was something about her stance that immediately put Dick on edge. "Ummm, hi," he said, playing the clueless teenager even as his eyes flickered over to where Babs had disappeared to in the stacks. "Can I help you?"

The woman smiled and took the seat opposite Dick without invitation. "I hope so," she answered cryptically. "I've been watching you for a long time, Robin."

A shiver ran down Dick's spine and he instinctively pushed himself back in his chair to keep some distance between them. He tried to keep his panic at the fact that she knew who he was off of his face, going for confusion instead. "I'm sorry?"

"I arranged the kidnapping at this school a few months ago," the woman said off-handedly, as if confessing to the felony was a minor thing. "I made sure that both you and Artemis were on the list, and then I sat back and watched, waiting to see how you would handle the situation. And I was impressed. You are smart and resourceful. Worthy of your reputation, Robin."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dick retorted. "I'm not-"

"I admit, I still wasn't completely sure then, but I am now, Robin. So don't play coy with me," the woman cut him off, a dangerous edge to her tone that made Dick clamp down on any further acts. "I led Strange to Happy Harbour so he could learn of your friends. I allowed Tetch to get close to Artemis. I had Bane target you and Wallace West."

Dick flinched unintentionally, making the woman grin broadly.

"Oh yes, I know everything about you and your little friends," she said proudly, the threat still clear in her voice as she spoke. "I was the one behind it _all,_ Robin. I know _who_ you _all_ are."

"What do you want?"

"I want _you."_

Dick blanched, his teenage male mind going places that it probably shouldn't have gone. The woman watched his reaction with mild amusement, her dark, calculating eyes seeming to see so much more than what he allowed to show on his face. "What for?"

"I am the best at what I do," the woman replied casually. She wasn't boasting, she was stating a fact. "I have pitted myself against almost every worthy opponent and cemented my position as superior every time. It is to the point where competition no longer provides a challenge for me, and I have grown bored. So I have set myself a new challenge. I require a student."

Dick blinked in surprise. "You want to... _teach_ me?"

"You should be honoured," she replied.

Dick scoffed in disbelief. "I'm not. I already have a mentor – I'm not in the market for a new one."

"Ah, yes, the Bat," the woman said scornfully, a flicker of something that Dick couldn't read flashing in her eyes. "But doesn't he have somebody new vying for his attention? Two somebodies, if my intelligence is correct. He has already replaced you; should you not have the right to replace him?"

"He _hasn't_ replaced me!" Dick hissed, a little more defensively than he had intended. His insecurity was showing and he knew it, but this woman knew just the right buttons to press. He tried to reign himself in and regain at least a little control over the situation, but the woman continued before he had the chance.

"Perhaps you're right," the woman shrugged, though she was obviously just saying the words to rile him up. "But you will still become my student rather than his."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the woman answered with a question.

Dick forced himself to stop and think for a moment, the answer coming to him in an instant. She knew who they all were. She knew that Wally was Kid Flash, and by extension that Barry was the Flash. She knew who Artemis was, her entire family well-known in the criminal underworld. Zatanna, M'gann, Connor, Kaldur... she probably knew about Babs as well. She knew about _him_ , which meant that she knew about _Bruce_ as well.

The fragile protection provided by the separation of their hero and civilian lives meant nothing. This woman knew _everything._ She could destroy them all with barely an effort.

She was holding his friends, his _family_ to ransom. In return she wanted him.

Dick gritted his teeth as he realised that there wasn't really a choice. "Who _are_ you?"

"I am Ms Wu San, your PoliSci teacher," she said, and then smiled. "But I suspect that you would know me better by my other name

"Lady Shiva."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the story ends! Thank you so much to everyone that left a comment and/or kudos! See you for the next story!
> 
> Manic x


End file.
